Shut Up and Drive [5/?]
Title: Shut Up and Drive
Pairings: Yoosu, Jaeho, Kangteuk
Length: Chapter fic
Author: rainbowpebbles
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama, Humour, Fluff
Summary: Yoochun and Yunho are paramedics. Junsu is a nurse and Changmin is a doctor. Yoochun and Junsu officially hate each other to bits, and Yunho likes Jaejoong (the florist!) but he’s too shy to do anything about it :D Enough said. Welcome to Joong Woon General Hospital.
In this chapter: The big Jaeho get-together!!!
The long week rolled by, and before they knew it, Saturday came along. It hadn’t been easy arranging a day where everyone would be free, with all their hectic shifts and whatnot, but somehow they managed it. Finally, there was time where all of them could meet up and have some serious, you-better-listen-up-or-I’ll-nuclear-punch-you discussion about Operation Jaeho. Or Yunjae. Whatever.
The only teensy flaw in this entire arrangement made itself very apparent on Saturday morning.
“Hyung!” Changmin hissed through his teeth at Leeteuk, who was washing the plates they had used for breakfast earlier. “What the hell is Yunho hyung still doing here?!”
“Why shouldn’t he be here?” Kangin looked puzzled, setting down the newspaper he was reading. “Didn’t you tell me to apply for leave for all of us?”
“…” Changmin gave him a blank look. “It was only meant to be you and Teuk hyung.”
“Huh?”
Changmin drew in a deep breath, as if getting ready to explain things to a three-year-old who just had his first encounter with crayons. “We,” he gestured to the three of them in the kitchen area. “…can’t have a top-secret Operation Jaeho meeting when the “Ho” in “JaeHo”…” He jerked his thumb in the direction of the living room. “…is still in this apartment watching television. And oh,” he added cheerily. “Did I mention that Junsu hyung is coming over in 15 minutes?”
A few seconds of an absence of conversation prevailed, with the only sounds coming from the television outside.
Changmin finally couldn’t take it anymore. “YUNHO HYUNG!” He hollered to the paramedic sitting in the living room. “STOP WATCHING SESAME STREET!”
“It’s not me!!” A whine drifted back. “Yoochun’s hogging the remote!”
There was a snigger. “But hyung, you need more practice with your alphabet!”
“I do not!”
“Yes you do!”
“Do not!”
“Do too!”
“DO NOT!”
“Alright then…what comes after Z?”
“…”
“HAH! Z is the last letter of the alphabet!!!”
“You cheated!”
“Did not!”
“Did too!”
“DID NOT!”
Changmin gave Leeteuk a pleading look. The oldest sighed, quickly grabbing a pen and a piece of paper, scribbling some words down hastily before he walked out of the kitchen. “Yunho!”
Yunho stopped pulling Yoochun’s hair. “Yes hyung?”
“Can you run to the supermarket for me? I need some groceries for dinner tonight.”
“Sure.” Yunho took the piece of paper from Leeteuk’s hands, his eyes scanning the list quickly before a weird expression crossed his face. “Hyung, are you sure I can find these at the supermart?”
“Why not?” Leeteuk shrugged. “They import everything nowadays. Off you go!” He shooed Yunho out of the apartment quickly, almost making him trip over while trying to put on his shoes. “Take your time!”
After the door was shut, Leeteuk found two pairs of curious eyes looking at him. “What?”
Changmin’s eyebrow twitched. “What did you ask him to buy?”
Leeteuk scratched his head. “Nothing much…just whatever I could possibly think of. Snake eggs, pigeon ham…” He walked to the sofa, plopping down beside Kangin comfortably. “Flour from Wakalulu Island…”
Yoochun’s mouth hung open for a while before he snapped it shut. “That aside…now that hyung’s out of the way, we can start the discussion, can’t we?”
Changmin shook his head. “Nope. Gotta wait for Junsu hyung to arrive. He said he’ll be here at 10, which is in…” Their heads turned to the clock hanging on the wall. “…about…12 minutes and 37 seconds time.”
“…”
“I’m practicing my mental sums, okay?”
“…I’m gonna take a shower first before Junsu arrives. Knock on the door if he’s here and I’m not done!” Kangin disappeared into the corridor, humming to himself.
“Work.” was all that Changmin supplied before he left the apartment, presumably to return to his room to his laptop.
“I’m gonna finish washing the plates.” Leeteuk got up, patting imaginary dust off his pants lightly. “Open the door for Junsu when he comes, will you?”
Before Yoochun knew it he was left sitting in the living room alone, with Elmo still singing in his irritatingly-high voice in the background. This is the song, la-la-la-la, Elmo’s song…
He suddenly realized what he was doing and slapped himself. Why the HELL am I humming along to this?
Yoochun sat on the sofa, so absorbed with the image of his brain being overtaken by red furry monsters that he failed to notice the doorbell ringing.
“Yoochun!” Leeteuk called loudly from the kitchen. “Could you get the door please? And turn the TV off!”
Yoochun scrambled for the remote, turning the television off before he bounded towards the front door, peeking through the door hole to find the irking yet familiar face. He’s early.
He swung the door open, his eyes immediately meeting with Junsu’s. “Yo.”
Junsu quickly looked down, mumbling a quiet “Good morning”. His slightly spiky hair seemed to have been ruffled gently by the wind, with a thick and ridiculous long scarf wrapped securely around his neck, threatening to swallow his face up till his nose. Despite the numerous coils the scarf made around his neck and shoulders, it almost trailed along the floor behind him. All in all, Junsu looked like a…
“Penguin.” Yoochun said in a very flat tone. “Why the hell are you dressed like a penguin?” Although I have to admit…he’s sort of…
Junsu blushed.
…cute.
“Junsu!” Leeteuk strolled past leisurely, before a confused look crossed his face. “Why is your scarf so long?”
“It’s a product of my hyung’s over-enthusiastic knitting…” Junsu said miserably. “He wouldn’t let me leave the house without it. AND…” He tugged at his thick jacket, which looked like it would have made someone comfortably warm in Antarctica. “He made me wear this as well.”
Leeteuk chortled with laughter while Yoochun tried to remain expressionless. “Come on in then. I’m about to call Kangin out from his shower…” The oldest turned to Yoochun. “Could you get Changmin from his room please?”
Without waiting for a reply, Leeteuk hurried off. Yoochun and Junsu stood facing each other awkwardly at the doorway.
“Move it, Snowball. I need to get out.”
“Hold on, let me try to get my shoes off first!” Junsu tried bending over, but to no avail; his scarf was blocking his vision and the thickness of his jacket made it almost impossible to bend over.
“If you had a brain,” Yoochun said lazily. “You would have thought of taking your jacket off first.”
Junsu flushed with embarrassment, his fingers rushing to unzip his jacket.
Yoochun rolled his eyes as he moved forward, trying to squeeze past Junsu to the door in the narrow space surrounded by shoe cabinets.
“Hold-hold on!” Junsu huffed. “Don’t push me!” He struggled to maintain his balance, wailing a little. “The zipper’s stuck!”
Yoochun watched on with amusement as Junsu wobbled on the spot, nearly tripping over his scarf as his fingers strained to pull on the stubborn zipper. This is entertaining. “You look like you’re tap-dancing.”
“ARRRGHHHH!!!” Junsu groaned in frustration into his scarf. “This is not working! I’m gonna kill hyung when I get home! And then burn his knitting set!”
“Come here.”
Junsu’s eyes widened. “What?”
“I said come here.” Yoochun reached out a hand, gesturing to his jacket zipper.
“I’ll do it myself!”
“Stop being stubborn!” Yoochun stepped forward.
“N-no!”
Exasperated, Yoochun reached out, grabbing Junsu by his jacket forcefully just as Junsu tried to back away, this time tripping over his trailing scarf. Junsu squeaked as his fell forward…
…landing heavily on the person who was trying to save him from the evils of his jacket zipper.
Yoochun groaned, reaching out to rub the back of his head tenderly. What the…He looked up to see Junsu slowly lifting his head to look at him, his eyes wide and round.
He suddenly felt a tingling sensation on his cheeks, vaguely aware of how Junsu’s hand was braced against his chest. How his heartbeat suddenly felt stronger and so much, so much faster. How Junsu’s fringe fell over his eyes, and how his scarf made his features seem even softer. How the person lying on top of him felt so warm and snuggly. How Changmin was standing there, glasses on and laptop tucked under his arm, gaping.
“…” The three of them remained speechless, with Junsu still lying on top of Yoochun in a daze.
“…I’ll go in first.” Changmin turned slowly, heading into the apartment. Yoochun caught a small glimpse of the smirk on his face.
Yoochun remained stunned for a while, before regaining his senses.
“KIM JUNSUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“WHAT!” Junsu wailed back. “IT WASN’T MY FAULT!”
“GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY CHEST!”
Junsu scrambled off hastily. “D-DON’T MAKE ME SOUND LIKE SOME PERVERT!”
“UUUUAAAAAAGGGGGRRRRRHHHHHH!!!”
~*~
Leeteuk was usually excellent at interpreting the behaviour of his dong saengs, but he felt quite unsure about the situation at hand.
For some reason, Changmin was smirking from ear to ear. Not that it was an uncommon sight, but today, there was just something more evil and sinister about it. Almost Machiavellian.He just couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
Next to Changmin was Junsu, who was abnormally quiet, looking down at his fingers, his cheeks unusually red and rosy. Maybe it had been cold outside?
Yoochun was sitting opposite Junsu next to Kangin, his arms crossed, staring at the table as if he wanted to burn a hole in it with his gaze. Leeteuk frowned. Wasn’t Yoochun still happy and singing Sesame Street songs just a few moments ago?
Beside him, Kangin was drying his hair with a towel a bit too vigorously. Leeteuk wiped a few water droplets off the side of his cheek, looking from one dong saeng to another. “Shall we begin?”
“Let’s.” Changmin adjusted his glasses, and Leeteuk could have sworn that Changmin had winked at Yoochun. “Basically we just need to formulate a simple plan. Since we know that it’s not a one-sided affair, all we need to do is let the both of them be aware of their feelings for each other, and developments should continue on their own subsequently.”
Kangin tilted his head, trying to shake the water out of his ears. “Sorry, could you say that again? I couldn’t quite hear you.”
“We need to shove them together.”
“Right.”
“How about,” Leeteuk quipped. “We print out mushy poems, stick them all over Jaejoong’s shop and then sign them all off as Yunho.”
“We video-tape Yunho hyung during one of his daily ‘drool over Jaejoong’ sessions.” Yoochun contributed in a flat tone.
“Flowers?”
Kangin found three blank stares directed at him. “What?”
“To be honest…” Changmin took out a blue notebook out of nowhere. “I actually had this in mind.”
Yoochun blinked, before his mouth fell open. “Isn’t that…”
“Yep. This is Yunho hyung’s diary.” Changmin shuddered a little. “Complete with all his mushy thoughts and feelings about Jaejoong hyung.”
Leeteuk glanced at the book. “So you’re saying…”
“…we should pass Jaejoong his diary.” Kangin finished Leeteuk’s sentence. “That’s an idea.”
“…no.” A small voice suddenly interrupted the conversation.
“Junsu hyung?” Changmin looked at the man who had been quiet for some time. “Why not?”
“I don’t think we should be trying so hard just to match-make them.” Junsu looked up to find confused faces, before he waved his hands frantically. “I don’t mean that we shouldn’t do anything, but I think…” He gave a little smile. “I think it would be a better idea if Yunho hyung did something on his own initiative. I know my hyung. He likes stuff that’s done with sincerity.”
Junsu looked at the rest, watching as they pondered on the idea. His eyes drifted to Yoochun, snapping away quickly before Yoochun could catch his gaze.
“I guess that’s a better idea.” Yoochun finally spoke. “But if we’re gonna get Yunho hyung involved in this plan, we gotta rescue him from the supermarket first.”
~*~
Yunho walked down the aisle, glancing at the grocery list, his heart sinking a little. Why can’t I find anything that Leeteuk hyung asked for? He paused to scratch the back of his head, one hand resting on the trolley. Maybe I should try a bigger supermarket?
He suddenly felt his cell phone vibrate, and he reached smoothly into his jacket pocket to pull it out. “Yeoboseyo?”
“Yunho?” He recognized Kangin’s voice immediately. “Are you still at the mall?”
“Yeah…” He glanced guiltily down at the empty trolley. “But I haven’t managed to find any of the-”
“Meet us at the tuxedo store.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re gonna need a tux.”
“Huh?” Why would I need a…An idea suddenly dawned on him. “Hyung…” he whispered urgently on the phone. “Are…are you and Leeteuk hyung getting married?”
“Less questions. WALK!!!” Kangin barked over the phone before he hung up, leaving a very puzzled Yunho to ponder by himself.
~*~
“Hold on!” Yunho’s head popped out from behind the curtain of the changing room. “Isn’t this a bit too fast?!” He disappeared inside, before he re-appeared again. “And expensive??”
“Are you gonna wait forever to sweep Jaejoong hyung off his feet?” Changmin’s eyebrow rose. “And what are you complaining about? You’re not the one paying for it.”
Yoochun sniffled. “My pocket bleeds.”
“You deserve it, since you were the one who complicated things in the first place.” Leeteuk moved forward, grabbing Yunho by the arm before yanking him out from behind the curtains, looking him up and down. “Wow.”
Kangin nodded. “You look good. Yah Yoochun, you really have good taste in clothes.”
“Well if I had smart taste, I would have picked something cheaper.” Yoochun took out his wallet, counting the bills inside desperately. “Twenty, fifty…”
Changmin hummed his approval. “What do you think, Junsu hyung?”
Junsu shuffled forward, taking in the suave form of Yunho in a nicely-cut black suit, complete with a smart pair of leather shoes. His eyes twinkled before he smiled, giving Yunho a cute thumbs up.
Leeteuk aww-ed.
Yoochun nearly tore his hundred dollar bill into two.
~*~
Kim Jaejoong sat dully behind the counter on his wooden stool, moving two knitting needles limply in his hands. His eyes were unfocused with his mind even further as the baby blue wool seemed to weave itself into patterns.
After a while, he paused in his knitting to glance up at the ornate clock on the wall. Half an hour more before I deliver Junsu’s lunch. He looked at the progress that he had made on the scarf. I should be done with this by then too.
He looked around the small shop, the serenity of the shop making it a little lonelier somehow. It’s been a week…
Why doesn’t he come anymore?
Jaejoong pressed the scarf towards himself, trying to make sense of his feelings. You want him to come, don’t you?
…but you don’t want him to buy flowers for her.
But if he doesn’t want to buy flowers for her…
You wouldn’t get to see him at all.
He sighed heavily, shaking his fringe out of his eyes. Stop thinking. Just stop thinking.
He looked at the wool in his hands. Knit.
~*~
Junsu let out a little moan as he peered into the flower shop. “He’s knitting! AGAIN! That’s the third two-metre long scarf already!” He glanced desperately at the man behind him. “Yunho hyung! Get in there now!”
Yunho looked mortified. “Now?” He spluttered. “B-But I can’t remember what I’m supposed to say!”
“You mean I sacrificed my whole night of sleep rehearsing with you for nothing?” Yoochun pinched his eye bags forlornly.
“Yunho hyung, just go in already!” Changmin whined. “Can we get this settled before lunch? Please?”
Leeteuk patted Yunho’s arm patiently. “The more you wait, the more nervous you’ll get, Yunho.”
“But…”
“Hyung, it’ll be fine.” Junsu proclaimed, a little desperate. “You see the sad expression on his face? Do you see the monster of a scarf he’s knitting?” He pointed to his brother in the shop. “He’s doing all that because he likes you! And he thinks you’re going out with someone else!” He gave Yunho a shove. “Go in there and prove him wrong!”
~*~
The door jingled as it was opened, causing Jaejoong to look up, a greeting coming instinctively to his mouth. “Welcome!” He slid off the stool, walking in front of the counter only to stop and stare in shock.
Yunho?!
The other man stood in front of him, rubbing the back of his neck in a manner that seemed almost sheepish. What he wore was not the standard dark blue uniform of a paramedic, but a suit that seemed almost tailored perfectly to fit his frame, sleek black lines outlining every angle of his body. His hair seemed to have been styled professionally instead of its usual half-ruffled state, and the look was complete with black leather shoes.
In other words, Yunho practically sparkled.
Jaejoong gaped for a while, fighting down the blush that threatened to invade his cheeks. “You…” He gave a nervous smile. “…You look nice.” He quickly regained his senses, moving to the counter. “Here to buy flowers for her again?”
Yunho tugged at his collar a little, walking forward as he smiled. “Yeah…I decided to do something a little different today. I’m…” He grinned. “I’m taking her out on a date tonight.”
“…oh.” Oh.
“I…” Yunho paused for a while, looking around the shop before he found the red roses. “Could you give me a dozen of those, please?”
“S-Sure.” Jaejoong gave him a shaky smile, before he walked over to pick twelve stalks of red roses. “I’ll choose the prettiest ones for you.” He began snipping the thorns off the roses. “Any preference in the colour of the wrapping?”
Yunho met his gaze. “You pick for me.”
“Oh…alright…” Jaejoong’s fingers skimmed over the different coloured wrappings before he selected a purple one. Using the same pair of scissors he had used to snip off the thorns, he began cutting the stalks to an appropriate length, glancing around before picking out some baby’s breath to add to the bouquet.
Yunho watched Jaejoong’s movements carefully, his eyes trained on his deft fingers. “Jaejoong…”
“Hmm?”
“Do you know the significance of twelve roses?”
Jaejoong froze as his heart gave a weird twinge, his brain quickly formulating a lie. “No…not really. Do you?”
“Well, for starters…” Yunho looked pleased with himself. “Red roses are a symbol of romance, and of feelings of love.”
Jaejoong’s fingers tightened slightly. “Really?”
He saw Yunho nod out of the corner of his eyes. “Yeah! And do you know what the number twelve signifies?”
Jaejoong shook his head as he grabbed a roll of ribbon to tie around the bouquet.
“Twelve,” Yunho began. “Twelve represents twelve months in a year. Or the twelve numbers on the face of a clock. So by giving twelve roses…” Yunho moved forward to gently caress the petals of one of the roses. “It means that you’re declaring your love for that person, whom you can’t stop thinking of throughout the year, throughout every single day…”
Jaejoong swallowed with difficulty, trying to stop his eyes from tearing, biting his lip to distract himself. “That’s nice to know.” He looked up and smiled at the other man. “It’s very sweet of you to do this for her. And I’m sure she’ll be touched when she finds out the significance.”
Yunho flushed. “You think so?”
“Of course!” He accepted Yunho’s credit card to charge the payment to it, printing out the receipt for Yunho to sign before he finally passed the bouquet to Yunho. “Good luck with your date tonight.”
Yunho looked at the bouquet in his arms, deep in thought. “Do you think she’ll like them?”
Jaejoong pretended to be indignant. “Jung Yunho! The bouquet was arranged by me!” He gave a fake laugh. “Everyone loves my bouquets!”
“Do you?” Yunho suddenly stepped forward.
Jaejoong’s eyes widened. “Do I what?”
“Do you like your own bouquets?” A small smile crept onto Yunho’s face.
…huh? “W-What do you mean?”
“Because…” Yunho moved behind the counter to stand beside Jaejoong. “The person I want to give this bouquet to is you. Not to some random nurse. The one whom I can’t stop thinking of every month, every week, every day, every hour…is you, Kim Jaejoong.”
Jaejoong blinked in astonishment as Yunho gave him back the very bouquet he had arranged himself, his look of wonder slowly turning into joy as he stared up at Yunho’s face.
“What I’m saying is…” Yunho couldn’t stop grinning now. “Would you go out with me tonight?”
end of chapter five.
A/N: FINALLLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY~
argh@&#^@&%#&!@^*#!&* sorry for the long wait! I know I promised multiple chapter updates, but real life is making things really difficult for me now. I just finished squeezing out this chapter! I planned it a few weeks ago, but I couldn’t sit down to write it until I finally had a free weekend :D my apologies! hope you guys still follow this story TT
all mushy words/thoughts/ideas in this chapter were inspired by yoochun 8D
sorry if I didn’t finish answering all the comments for the previous chapter! I couldn’t access livejournal in Shanghai, and by the time I came back school was almost starting and I really had no time ;_; but I read every single one! they all went to my e-mail! thank you so much for commenting! I’ll try my best to finish answering all the comments this time round. I should be able to, since chinese new year is just round the corner.
and oh yes, happy lunar new year!!! ^^
I shall end my blabbering here. comments are loved! <3