Too Much For Words - Chapter 3
Title: Too Much For Words
Rating: K+
Genre: Romance/Melodrama
Pairings: Rainie Yang / Leeteuk
Length: 4 Chapters [Completed]
Disclaimer: Sadly enough, I own none of the celebrities used in this fanfiction. They belong to themselves, or their management companies... whatever. This fanfic, in no way, represents the celebrities in real life. It's all in my head. The plot belongs to me and me only.
Summary: Who would have known that the reason behind her departure was the very reason she should have stayed? But not all was lost. After she left the ones she loved - including the boy who saw her only as a sister - to catch some air, she met someone important and, years later, returned to her old life renewed. As expected, she wasn't the only one who had changed... Now, her past and her present lives collide in the most unexpected ways.
Geunseok stared blankly at Rainie when she shook his hand off of her own. “Something wrong?” He asked, his brows crooked in confusion.
“Yes,” Rainie stated bluntly, “You need to stop doing that. People will think we’re dating or something,” She continued. That phrase sounded so familiar to her ears.
Geunseok laughed, “So? Who cares? As long as we know we’re not.”
“You and your brother are too much alike,” Rainie rolled her eyes, “I hate that sometimes.”
“Sometimes?” Geunseok grinned mischievously, “So you like it most of the time?”
Rainie’s eyes widened, “N-no, that’s not what I meant.”
“Of course not,” Geunseok chuckled, “Where are we going?”
“To lunch,” Rainie replied simply.
Geunseok threw an arm over her shoulder, “With who?”
“Who else?” Rainie rolled her eyes.
Geunseok took a deep breath, “My brother?”
Rainie nodded.
“B-but...” Geunseok stuttered, “I’m not prepared.”
Rainie laughed, “You’re seeing your brother, not going to a talent show, what do you have to prepare for?”
“I want to leave a good impression,” Geunseok frantically replied, mixing his words together, “What if he hates me?”
“He probably already does,” Rainie teased.
“What? Why?!” Geunseok frowned.
Rainie shrugged, “Who knows?” They neared the cafe where Leeteuk was supposed to be meeting them and Rainie could tell Geunseok was tensing more than usual. “I was joking, you know,” She attempted at comforting the younger man, “He’s too nice to hate.”
“I’m still nervous,” Geunseok whispered, “What if he doesn’t like me?”
“He likes everyone,” Rainie reassured, “He’s that type of person.”
Geunseok lifted an eyebrow, “What type?”
“The gay type,” Rainie replied.
Geunseok’s eyes widened in shock, “What?”
“Gay as in happy, you dork,” Rainie teased while laughing profusely. Geunseok shoved her lightly, letting out a sigh of relief, when he spotted Leeteuk staring at them from a small rounded table in the center of the cafe.
Rainie’s laughing immediately came to a halt and she smiled at Leeteuk politely. Geunseok did a ninety degree bow before taking a seat across from him. “Did we make you wait long?” Rainie asked.
Leeteuk shook his head, “Of course not.” He glanced over at Geunseok, who’s face was as red as a tomato. “Nice to see you again,” Leeteuk greeted in Korean.
“Yes, of course!” Geunseok beamed happily, “Nice to meet you.”
“Geunseok, right?” Leeteuk asked. Geunseok nodded. “Thank you for taking care of Rainie for us while she was in Korea, we owe you a lot.”
Geunseok shook his head, “Noona was the one who took care of me most.”
“Noona?” Leeteuk asked, his eyes wide in surprise, “You like younger guys? I never knew that.”
Rainie shook her head, “I don’t.” By the time she realized her mistake, it was already too late. She could only mentally kick herself and scowl at her slip. “But sometimes you don’t always get what you want,” She continued, trying to compensate for the slip.
Leeteuk felt heat creeping up his neck and gulped down a sip of water while nodding, “I know what you mean.” He couldn’t hold back a grin when he realized Geunseok’s lost epression. “He doesn’t understand any mandarin at all?”
“Nope,” Rainie shook her head, “Not the least.”
“So, what brought you back?” Leeteuk asked.
Rainie pursed her lips together, “Umm... him?” She said, pointing at Geunseok.
“What?” Geunseok asked. Rainie shook her head.
Leeteuk cocked his head to one side, “He wanted to visit Taiwan?”
“No,” Rainie shook her head again, “He wanted to meet you.”
By now, Leeteuk was completely lost. “Meet me? Why?”
“Maybe you should ask him,” Rainie shrugged, “I have to go now, Leila is waiting for me at the mall across the street. I’ll see you two later.”
“You two stopped fighting?” Leeteuk chuckled.
Rainie rolled her eyes, “We’re twins, we can’t stay mad at each other for long.” After gathering her belongings and exiting the cafe, leaving two very confused men together, Rainie disappeared from sight.
Leeteuk cleared his throat and proceeded to question the younger man. “So... did Rainie tell you a lot of really cool things about me or something?”
“N-no,” Geunseok shook his head, “She didn’t tell me much about her past and such.”
Leeteuk’s eyebrows knitted together, his hands uncomfortable no matter where he set them. “Then how did you know about me?”
“She told you?” Geunseok asked.
“Told me what?” Leeteuk replied.
Geunseok shook his head, “Nothing.”
“Are you a stalker or something then? Or maybe you just wanted to know everything about Rainie since you two are dating,” Leeteuk assumed.
Geunseok laughed, “We’re not dating.”
“Y-you’re not?” Leeteuk asked.
Geunseok shook his head. “We’re close, but we haven’t got that far yet. She always has so much on her mind,” He explained, “She’s always had someone on her mind.”
“Is that so?” Leeteuk asked, a little disheartened.
Geunseok nodded, “She has such a strong appearance, but I get the feeling that she’s always running away. I’m stronger than that, so I’ll just wait.”
“Wait? For her?” Leeteuk questioned, straightening himself out as a gesture of focusing his attention.
Geunseok shrugged, “Maybe. Do you care?”
Leeteuk didn’t reply, which caused a grin to spread on Geunseok’s baby like cheeks. “You’re very cheeky,” Leeteuk commented after a while of silence, “What’s the real reason you came to Taiwan?”
“To see you,” Geunseok smiled, resting his elbows on the table and holding his chin in his palm, “I came all the way here just to see you.”
Leeteuk let out a frustrated growl, “You’re... you’re not... gay, are you?”
“Unless you mean gay as in happy, then no,” Geunseok laughed, “I’m not.”
“Then why?” Leeteuk asked.
Geunseok slowly forced himself to become more seriously, patting his knees as he tried to synthesize the best answer to the question. He didn’t want to anger his older brother, or confuse him, after all.
“My full name is Jang Geunseok,” He finally replied, “I’m a freshman college student, born and raised in Korea.”
“And?” Leeteuk inquired.
Geunseok took in a deep breath, looking down at his hands, “I’m the brother you left behind.”
-----
Rainie scanned the mall carefully, catching glimpses of how much Taiwan had changed in the years she’s been gone. Some would say four and a half years was a long time, but others would consider it as only a very small fraction of ones life. Was it possible for things to change so much in such a span of time?
“Is it surprising?” Leila asked, dragging Rainie into another fashion store excitedly, “How things and people can change so quickly?”
Rainie furrowed her brows, “What exactly are you trying to get at?”
“Nothing,” Leila shrugged.
Rainie sighed, “I really haven’t changed all that much.”
“A crazy person never calls themselves crazy,” Leila teased. She pulled a dress off of the rack and held it before Rainie, biting her bottom lip as she tried to decide whether it would look good on either of them, “No, this won’t work.”
Leaning on the mirror beside the racks of clothes, Rainie watched as her sister rummaged through dozens of dresses and gowns. “Are you shopping for a special occasion?” She finally asked.
“Yes, yes I am,” Leila nodded, not sparing her sister a single look, “A birthday party.”
Rainie raised a brow, “Won’t a simple gown do?”
“For any other person, yes, but this is Leeteuk’s birthday!” Leila replied.
Slipping into silence, Rainie felt her knees grow weak. How could she have forgotten? Perhaps four and a half years wasn’t as short as she believed. It was long enough to help her forget, as she had wished.
“You forgot?” Leila asked. Rainie didn’t reply. “You’re very cruel,” Leila continued, “You two used to be the best of friends.”
Rainie sighed, “I know.”
“What happened?” Without putting her search for an outfit to an end, Leila asked the one question Rainie had always avoided answering. “Nevermind,” Leila groaned, “It’s not like I don’t know, and I don’t want to hear you lie.”
Rainie pushed herself off of the mirror, “What?”
“What?” Leila repeated.
“What do you know?” Rainie asked.
“Did I say I know something?” Leila shrugged.
Rainie walked over to her sister and shook her by the arm, “What do you know, Leila?”
“Nothing much really,” The older of the two shrugged again, “Just that a certain someone was too afraid of facing her feelings and ran away while another certain someone couldn’t find a solution to the said issue before it was already too late.”
“He didn’t know,” Rainie said.
“Didn’t he?” Leila asked.
Rainie immediately erected in her spot, “He did?”
“Maybe,” Leila chanted, “What do you think about this dress?”
Rainie pushed the dress away, “We can decide on that later! Did he know?”
Leila’s expression dropped, “You should have asked him.”
“I didn’t know-”
“You didn’t know how to ask? Or was it that you didn’t know how much he cared about you and would give the world to keep you happy? Maybe you didn’t know he was always there for you, always taking care of you, always thinking about you, before anyone else, including himself?” Leila hissed, crossing her arms defiantly.
Rainie took a step back, her feelings overwhelming her thoughts. “He never told me-”
“He never told you? How often did he tell you that he loved you?” Leila asked.
Rainie leaned against the wall for support, “He told me he loved me like a little sister.”
“But you’re not his sister,” Leila reminded.
“Don’t you love him like a brother?” Rainie defended.
Leila shook her head, “No, I don’t.”
“What?” Rainie asked.
Leila hung the dress she chose on the rack and situated herself beside her sister. “I could never love him like a brother, Rainie.”
“Do you-”
“I don’t,” Leila interrupted, “I don’t feel the way you do for Leeteuk oppa.”
Rainie lowered her eyes to the ground, “Then what do you see him as?”
“A friend? A good friend,” Leila replied, “A best friend, maybe. Someone who’s always there, someone who cares for us a lot more than just family. But he’s not. He’s not family, Rainie.”
“I know,” Rainie whispered.
“Maybe I always saw him as a brother-in-law,” Leila teased light heartedly, “Both of you sure made that seem possible back in the days. He missed you, he missed you so much.”
“Did he?” Rainie managed to reply.
Leila nodded, “More than you can imagine.”
“Is that so?” Rainie mindlessly asked.
Leila chuckled softly to herself. “You know, we were all still so young when you decided to leave. Maybe you matured earlier than the rest of us, but you sure had terrible timing. He was just about ready to sort out his feelings, just about to get things straight, when you announced you wanted to study abroad.”
“I announced it more than half a year before I was going to leave,” Rainie retorted, “He had plenty of time to sort things out.”
Pushing herself off the wall to stand across from Rainie, Leila stabbed her hands at her hips. “You said you wanted to leave, do you think he’d try to stop you if it was something you wanted?” Leila questioned.
“If he didn’t want me to-”
“If you cared enough,” Leila cut in, “you would have done what you were just about to say.”
Rainie tore her eyes off of her sisters, “Since when did you start reading minds?”
“I’m your twin,” Leila laughed, “I can read you like a book. Well?”
“What?” Rainie asked.
Leila rolled her eyes, “Are you going to talk things out with him?”
“It’s been so long-”
“Don’t even!” Leila scowled, “Why do the two of you like to make things so complicated? It’s been over four years, yet, both of you haven’t changed the slightest bit. Grow some balls,” She continued to scold, but paused for no more than three seconds, “Or guts, in your case.”
Rainie laughed, “You make it sound so easy.”
“It is easy,” Leila nodded, “Leeteuk oppa is a fraidy cat, we all know this. Why can’t you be the brave one and confront him?”
Rainie parted her lips to reply, but her thoughts silenced her. Perhaps Leila was right. Instead of standing in one place, waiting for who knows how long for the other to raise the issue, why didn’t she initiate things herself? She looked over at her sister, who gave her a steady look, and nodded.
“Good,” Leila chirped, returning to her shopping.
Rainie narrowed her eyes in thought. That’s it, she thought to herself, the wait will finally be over.