Meet You There [12/?]
Title: Meet You There
Pairings: Jaeho, Yoosu, one-sided Jaemin
Length: Chapter fic
Author: rainbowpebbles
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama, Humour, Fluff, Angst (not in any particular order)
Summary: Sequel to A World of Colour. Who said that the road after the first kiss would ever be smooth?
In this chapter: Dedicated to
deathbyaccident , who discovered the origins of the title 'ULTRA SUPER DUPER SPECTACULAR SUSPENSE THRILLER I-GOT-ANTS-IN-MY-PANTS SECRET ACTION PLAN ', which begins in this chapter. Everyone chips in to help Jaeho :D
The theme for that day was Japanese, or so he had been told.
Changmin looked suspiciously at the plate set before him. Hospital food, despite popular belief, was not half-bad. (In Chagmin’s opinion, anyway) But what was before him looked like cat food that the cat had peed on.
He picked up one metal chopstick, using it to prod one of the sticky objects, watching it slime over to smoosh against another. Ewwww.
The long-anticipated phone call finally came, Changmin’s phone vibrating its way along the table. He abandoned his meal inspection, leaning over to answer it, not even pausing to check who was on the other line.
“What took you so long?”
“…Sorry!” Short pants could be heard over the phone. “We…we had some problems getting into the room, and Heechul hyung said that Jaejoong hyung was being slightly stubborn-”
“Alright, alright,” Changmin said quickly. “We’re working on a tight schedule, hyung! We have to make sure that everything goes according to plan! Have you contacted Donghae hyung already?”
He could almost imagine Yoochun nodding on the other end of the line. “Yep. He said that Yunho hyung’s being a little stubborn. He keeps insisting on having his meal in the office. I heard that he’s been doing so for the past few days.”
Changmin bit his lip slightly. “It’s okay. Donghae hyung should have a way to persuade him. One way or another.” He paused to think. “Is Yeong Saeng in position already?”
“Yup. He’s already in position. Junsu briefed him on what to do earlier, so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.”
Changmin let out a small sigh of relief. “Good…then everything seems to be going according to plan. Let’s hope it’ll stay that way.” He poked at his food with his chopstick. “It’s all up to you and Junsu hyung today. I feel bad that I can’t be there…”
Yoochun cut in immediately. “Don’t be a stupid prat, Min. You’re hospitalized. Which means you should be chained securely to your bed with your IV line in your arm. You hear me?”
Changmin rolled his eyes slightly, a smile on his face. “Yes, hyung. I know. But call me when both of them get in okay? You can put me on speaker or something.”
Yoochun gave a hum of consent. “Hold on, your Junsu hyung wants to talk to you-”
“Changmin-ah!” He heard Yoochun’s muffled protests, his phone being snatched away from him. “How are you?”
“You saw me two hours ago, hyung.”
“Two hours is long enough for you to swallow 3 bottles of sleeping pills, slit your wrist and then throw yourself off a building.”
“…Did anyone tell you that you have a very warped mind, hyung?”
“I try.” A pause. “How’s lunch?”
Changmin eyed his food again. “Weird. I’m not even sure it’s edible.”
Junsu gave a snort. “Since when is anything inedible to you, Min?” Junsu suddenly stopped talking, and Changmin could hear Yoochun speaking in the background. “Changmin-ah, we’ll call you back later. Yoochun is complaining about his phone bill.”
“Okay. If anything happens…”
“Yes, we’ll inform you. Don’t worry so much! And enjoy your lunch!”
With that, Junsu hung up, leaving Changmin with only a dial tone and his plate of food.
Changmin stared solemnly at it. NOTHING is inedible. He picked up a metal spoon, making it dive down into the mixture of rice and slime, shoving it resolutely into his mouth before he could regret it.
One chew. Then two.
Whaddya know. Natto beans aren’t so bad after all.
~*~
Kim Jaejoong was dragged reluctantly out of the cab by one determined orange-haired young man.
“Hyung…hyung!! Can you please slow down!? You’re going to pull my arm off! How would I play the piano then?” He struggled to stay balanced on one crutch.
Heechul shot him an irritated look. “Then would you stop being such a whiny brat and HURRY UP? They need you there in 10 minutes!”
Jaejoong huffed. “I didn’t even agree to do this!”
Heechul rolled his eyes. “Well what else could you do?” He gave Jaejoong’s bandaged leg a pointed look. “Represent Korea in the World Cup? You’ve been on your butt for too long, Joongie! And you need to find some work!”
Jaejoong grumbled slightly, unable to think of a worthy retort. It was true: it had been 1 week since he had been discharged from the hospital, and he had done nothing but sit at home and rot his bandages off. That was when Heechul had decided to make him use his time more purposefully: by finding him a job as a pianist in the prestigious Four Seasons Hotel.
This was where Jaejoong’s self-confidence issues kicked in. Why would the Four Seasons Hotel, which provided lodging for important guests all over the world, feel that he was qualified enough to play? He hadn’t taken any of the more advanced tests (not that he remembered, anyway) and he definitely had no documentation to prove that he was a competent pianist. And why would they give such an opportunity to someone who could barely hobble straight to save his life?
It all boiled down to one thing: Jaejoong was scared.
And the next conclusion to be made from observing the whole scenario: Heechul obviously didn’t care.
“HURRY UP!”
“I’m moving as fast I can already, hyung! Stop rushing me!”
Heechul pulled him along impatiently through the doors of the hotel, which were opened by two of the well-dressed staff. Jaejoong watched as he scanned the crowd briefly, as if looking for a familiar face. And before Jaejoong knew it, he was being pulled to yet another destination.
“Yeong Saeng!” Heechul called out as they approached a pale, young man. “We’re here already!”
“Aaaahh!...” the young man seemed to be slightly at a loss of what to say. “Heechul hyung! You’re finally here!” He turned uneasy, shifty eyes on Jaejoong. “And you must be Jaejoong-sshi?”
Jaejoong nodded at him, feeling the butterflies flitting around in his stomach. Nerves.
“W-well then.” Yeong Saeng tore his gaze away from Jaejoong’s face. “I’ll just bring you to the staff locker rooms for you to get changed then.”
Jaejoong nodded, turning to tell Heechul that he was leaving…when he realized that his hyung had already disappeared. His eyes caught the end of the familiar pink-checkered scarf before it vanished as its owner turned a corner.
Where’s he going-
“Jaejoong-sshi?” A voice called out. Jaejoong whipped around, his eyes meeting Yeong Saeng’s again, causing the other man to quickly look away. “Err, I think we should get going now.” He turned to lead the way.
“Have we met before?”
The question was out before Jaejoong knew it, blurted out by accident, but that didn’t bother him. His eyes studied Yeong Saeng’s face carefully: why did he look so familiar?
Yeong Saeng looked slightly startled. “Uhh…I don’t think-” He trailed off slightly, as if thinking hard, before he looked straight at Jaejoong again. “No. I don’t think we’ve met before, Jaejoong-sshi. Maybe we’ve crossed paths on the street before?”
Jaejoong felt a nagging feeling of doubt. “Maybe.” He shook away his wandering thoughts. “I’m sorry.” He motioned for Yeong Saeng to start walking. “You can show me the way now.”
Yeong Saeng nodded, and Jaejoong followed him, his nerves taking their place in his stomach once more.
~*~
Heechul hurried to the room, barely knocking on the door before he entered. “Is everything ready?”
Junsu, who was banging on another door, turned around. “All the technical stuff’s been settled. I’m just trying to get Chun out of the toilet.” He continued his task. “Park Yoochun!!! Now is not the time to empty your bowels! Get out here NOW!!!”
A loud whine was heard. “Su~~~ I can’t choose when to go to the toilet!”
Junsu scowled. “But we need to discuss and think about the plan!”
“I am thinking!! The toilet’s the best place to think!” There was a pause. “Didn’t Newton discover gravity in the toilet?”
Junsu looked like he was going to faint.
Heechul hurriedly stepped in. “An apple tree, Yoochun. Newton discovered gravity under an apple tree. When an apple fell on his head.” He tried not to think about Newton could have possibly discovered gravity while doing his…business in the toilet. “Never mind about Yoochun for a while, Junsu. Do you know how to operate the system?”
Junsu looked slightly frazzled. “That’s the whole problem! The technician only taught Yoochun how to do it! We need him out here!” He glared at the door. “Donghae hyung may be bringing Yunho hyung down anytime now!”
Heechul’s expression changed instantly.
“PARK YOOCHUN!!! IF YOU DON’T GET YOUR BUTT OUT HERE NOW, I’M GOING TO BANG THE DOOR DOWN AND THEN TAKE NAKED PICTURES OF YOU TO POST ON THE INTERNET!”
Yoochun whimpered miserably.
~*~
Donghae stared out of the office pantry cautiously before withdrawing quickly, hitting the taller man standing behind him.
“Owww!”
Donghae saw Siwon rubbing his head, which had just been subjected to a formidable blow from one of the lower cupboards. “Oops. Sorry. But you’re too tall for your own good, Siwon-ah.”
Siwon continued rubbing his head, looking slightly lost and confused. “Isn’t Changmin taller than me? Shouldn’t the cupboards be placed higher so that he wouldn’t bump his head when he looks for food?”
Donghae waved one hand in a dismissive manner, taking a peek outside at Yunho’s office again. “Changmin has his OWN pantry. Yunho hyung and I got too tired of finding the pantry empty save for instant coffee mix and low fat biscuits, which Changmin refuses to eat because ‘it just isn’t right’.” He drew his head back in, turning around to give Siwon a serious look. “He doesn’t look like he’s going to come out anytime soon. I think we have to give him a little push. Has Yoochun hyung called to confirm whether they’re ready yet?”
Siwon nodded. “They’ve set up all the technical stuff already, and Yoochun hyung has tested it once. He sounded a little constipated over the phone though.”
Donghae straightened. “That’s okay, Yoochun hyung always sounds constipated.” He tugged on Siwon’s arm. “Come on, let’s go in.”
The two knocks on the door were responded with a tired “Come in” and Donghae opened the door to let Siwon and himself in. Yunho didn’t even bother looking up from the work he was doing.
“What is it, Donghae? If it’s because you still insist on changing the regular office toilet paper to the ones with dolphin and seashell print, I told you already, you’ll have to clear that with Changmin when he comes back-”
“I didn’t come here to talk about that, hyung. I’m still getting more people to sign a petition for that.” Donghae shifted slightly so that Siwon could be seen more clearly. “You wanted to see him, didn’t you? So I brought him here.”
Yunho finally looked up, his eyes brightening when they fell on the tall young man. “Siwon! I’ve been wanting to see you for days now,” he searched his table, sheets of paper flying to the floor. “Aaah here it is!” He strode over, handing a slightly rumpled sheet of paper to him.
Siwon scanned through the neat printing quickly. “Promoted? I’ve been promoted?”
Yunho beamed. “That’s right. You’re now Changmin’s official assistant. I figured it would be better if he had someone to help him out, and to make sure that he eats properly while he’s working.” He looked at Siwon. “You’re okay with it, I hope?”
Siwon nodded. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Yunho looked relieved. “Good, good; I’ll just get someone to place a desk in front of his office for you-”
Donghae cleared his throat. “Hyung, if it is the duty of an assistant to make sure that his boss is eating right,” He pointed at the clock. “Then it is mine to make sure that you are having your meals. You should be down for lunch now.”
Yunho didn’t meet Donghae’s eyes. “I will, just give me a few more minutes to finish reading one last document…”
Donghae’s lips straightened into an unhappy line. “You told me that half an hour ago, hyung.”
“…Did I? I don’t remember! I’m serious this time, just one last document…”
Donghae nudged Siwon, who took it as his cue to speak. “Aww hyung…let’s go for lunch! I’m starving!” He gave his best innocent look. “I hardly get to have lunch with you…let’s eat together. To celebrate my promotion. Please, hyung?”
Yunho looked slightly uncertain, his eyes looking at the stacks of papers on his table before pausing at Siwon’s slightly pouty look. “I don’t know, Siwon…”
Donghae stepped discreetly on Siwon’s foot. Siwon’s eyes watered in pain and he blinked his eyes a few times to add to the puppy-dog effect. “Please?”
Yunho couldn’t resist the desperate tone in his dong saeng’s voice. “…alright then. Let’s go then. But not too far, okay? I need to finish some work urgently, so I have to be back quite soon.”
Perfect. “How about the restaurant downstairs?” Donghae voiced out quickly. “We’ll make it plain and simple, and then after lunch you can just come up and continue with your work.”
Yunho nodded. “Okay.” He picked his jacket, which had been thrown messily over the couch in his office. “Let’s go then!”
Behind his back, Siwon and Donghae exchanged high fives.
~*~
Yunho should have known that it was a conspiracy.
It was a conspiracy that Siwon had suddenly appeared in his office; a conspiracy that Donghae and Siwon had been so persistent in eating lunch; a conspiracy that they were eating at the hotel restaurant; a conspiracy that they were sitting at this particular table…
…where they had a clear view of the new pianist, who went by the name of Kim Jaejoong.
It was a lucky thing that Jaejoong was so immersed in his piece that he didn’t notice Yunho’s arrival.
And that was the way Yunho wanted it to be.
“Would you like me to refill your drink, sir?”
“That would be good, thank y-” Yunho looked up the waiter and his heart nearly stopped beating. That’s it. It’s definitely a conspiracy. “YOU!”
Yeong Saeng backed away slightly, looking hurt. “What’s wrong with me?”
Yunho was at a loss for words, pointing at Yeong Saeng, then at Jaejoong, then at Yeong Saeng again. “You…h-he…what are you doing here!?”
Yeong Saeng gave a small, wistful smile. “Don’t worry, he doesn’t remember who I am. And Changmin was the one who offered me the job. He said that having a actual job would be a lot healthier than stalking someone for the rest of my life.”
Donghae nodded. “And I think Changmin was right to do that, hyung. We needed more waiters anyway.” He kicked Siwon under the table, who immediately responded with an over-enthusiastic “YES!”.
Yunho got over his shock, blinking his eyes slowly. “I guess you’re right…and I trust Min. He knows what’s best.” He looked at Yeong Saeng expectantly. “Well then. Aren’t you going to fill my glass?”
Yeong Saeng picked his nearly-empty glass off the table, raising his jug of water to fill it, his eyes darting to Jaejoong, who seemed to have finished his piece. “Of course, sir.”
Yunho couldn’t really tell what happened next: because when he opened his eyes, he was sopping wet and his suit was ruined. If Yunho had time to review the situation, he would have sworn that Yeong Saeng had literally thrown the entire jug of water, ice cubes and all, onto him.
“Oh my goodness I’m so sorry!” Yeong Saeng exclaimed loudly, snatching a few napkins from an empty table nearby to help Yunho dry himself. “Here take these-”
“Yunho?”
The voice made Yunho freeze in his tracks. Oh no.
“Yunho, is that you?” Jaejoong paused in mid-hobble, trying to have a better look at his face.
Donghae waved enthusiastically. “Hyung! Come and join us!” He pulled out the last empty chair at their table for Jaejoong to sit down. “Has your shift just ended?”
“Yeah, it has.” Jaejoong looked slightly puzzled. “But what would all of you be doing here?”
“Didn’t you know? This is the hotel run by Yunho hyung and Changmin.”
Yunho watched as Jaejoong’s eyes widened. He averted his eyes as Jaejoong shot a surprised look at him. “I never knew! Probably explains why I got the job so easily then.”
Donghae chuckled. “Yep, Changmin got Heechul hyung to bring you here; he said something about letting you do what you enjoy the most-”
Yunho’s mind blocked out the rest of what Donghae was saying. Changmin?
Does Changmin…
Yunho suddenly felt the urge to leave the table.
“Excuse me, everyone, but I think I need to change out of my wet clothes.” He stood abruptly, nearly knocking Yeong Saeng over. “Please, continue.” He turned to leave when his cell phone suddenly rang. Changmin. He answered it.
“Hey Min. What’s up?”
“Hyung!” Changmin sounded unusually excited. “Are you with Jaejoong hyung? I heard you were having lunch with Donghae hyung and Siwon hyung at the place where he was playing…” There was a pause, and then he carried on…with a hint of embarrassment? “C-Could you do me a favour, hyung? I have a gift for Jaejoong hyung…it’s in my office…the second drawer in my desk…could you pass it to him for me?”
Yunho’s grip tightened involuntarily on his phone. “No problem…I need to get back to my office anyway-”
“Err-” Changmin interrupted suddenly. “If it’s not too much trouble, hyung…could you bring him up with you? Jaejoong hyung told me that he’s always wanted to see my…I mean our office. It’s…it’s not too much trouble, is it?”
Yunho felt his heart sink. Don’t let it show. Don’t. He valiantly tried to keep his voice steady. “Alright, Min. I’ll bring him up with me.”
Changmin laughed happily. “Thank you so much, hyung! Love you!”
Yunho murmured a reply, and the call ended. It’s natural, Jung Yunho. Don’t get so affected. Jaejoong likes Changmin…and now Min…Min likes Jaejoong too.
His brain hadn’t quite come to terms with that.
And his heart refused to believe it.
He turned to Jaejoong, trying to set his expression straight. “Jaejoong…Changmin told me to pass something to you. It’s in his office. He wanted me to…” Yunho swallowed. “He wanted me to show you around. So… shall we go up?”
“Huh” Jaejoong blinked for a while, staring at Yunho’s face before his mind registered what was being said to him. “Oh okay! Let’s go then.”
Donghae watched as Yunho led Jaejoong towards the staff lifts, before whipping out his cell phone. “Junsu hyung? They’re there already.”
“Alright. We see them. Which lift are they taking?”
Donghae looked carefully at the two figures entering the lift. “They’re taking Lift 2. You can start anytime now.”
“Okay, got it.” The phone went dead with a click.
Siwon stretched in his chair and Yeong Saeng sat down, placing the empty jug on the table, a look of unease on his face. “You think it’ll work?”
Donghae shot him a smirk. “Why not?”
Yeong Saeng shrugged. “I don’t know…it just doesn’t feel very right.”
Donghae took a sip from his glass of water. “Don’t worry so much, hyung. This plan was directed entirely by Changmin. Which means it has a pretty high success rate.” He swallowed, replacing the glass on the table. “All we need to do is to wait and see what happens.”
~*~
Junsu hung up, turning to Yoochun urgently. “It’s Lift 2.”
Yoochun stared at the monitors. “I know. I see them here.” His tongue poked out of his mouth in concentration.
Heechul peered at the screens, where Yunho was holding the door open for Jaejoong. “On 3, Yoochun. We’ll let them go up a few floors first.”
Sound flooded through the speakers, picked up by the hidden microphones in the lift.
“Which floor are we going to?”
“The top one. That’s where our offices are. Maybe if we have time I’ll bring you to a few of the more important floors.”
“Oh…okay.”
Heechul rolled his eyes at the awkwardness between the two. “Doesn’t seem to be going too well, does it?’
Junsu gave an evil smirk. “Don’t worry. It’ll be much better when we’re done with this plan.”
Heechul mirrored Junsu’s expression. “Alright, Yoochun. In 3…”
“…2…”
“…1.”
And then the lift was plunged into darkness.
End of chapter twelve. (dedicated to deathbyaccident :D)
>.< no excuses for me to be late this time: I started on this chapter a few days back and I finally sat myself down to finish it today ^^;;; I’m really, really sorry this took so long! And I’m sorry I didn’t get to answer all the comments for the previous chapter!!! Rest assured: I read ALL of them when I checked my e-mail :D and they were lovely. Thank you so much!!! *gives out red balloons*
My exams are in exactly 56 days (I think, if I counted correctly) and I’m quite pressured to study ^-^ I’ll try to update regularly, as much as I can <333 and I know I sorta left a cliffie at the end of this chapter XDD don’t worry, the next update shouldn’t take too long: NATIONAL DAY is coming, so that means a 4 DAY BREAK. HAHAHAHA!!! I COULD JUST KILL MYSELF IN JOY!!!! *dances junsu’s silly summer dream dance*
Seriously, I thank you guys for looking out for this fic (: your support really means a lot to me <333 *hugs and squishes* I haven’t been a good author lately, and I thank you for tolerating that ^__^ I’ll try to work harder from now on!!!
Comments are very much loved!!!