DBSK Fic : Finders are Keepers (1/??)
Title: Finders are Keepers
Pairing: Yoochun x Junsu
Genre: Romance
Rating: PG-13 for now
Warnings: male x male relationship, hinted child abuse
Disclaimer: I do not own DBSK/JYJ
Summary: But sometimes we learn something new about the past that changes everything about the present.
Unbeta-ed, all mistakes are mine.
---
Author's Note: Thank you all for your comments and supports in the previous post. It really meant a lot to me. Every word of encouragement flicker a tiny bit of hope in my heart and by the end I'm reading through all the comments, I had tears in my eyes. I'm sure I'll go back and reread everything again and again, just to ensure myself that so many people are wishing me and my family well :)
I only know one way to convey how grateful I am, and that is to post a fic. It's something I've been working on for a while and hadn't posted yet.
Don't know how I can update the next chapter though :(
Enjoy.
Special thanks to ichigotabetai, chihana11 and italina_bella. You guys are amazing.
Finders are Keepers
Chapter One
By: Sharl
But sometimes we learn something new about the past that changes everything about the present.
+++
“Sajang-nim, there is someone who wants to see you.”
Yoochun didn’t even bother to look up from the presentation he was reading on. His marketing department needed to present this in front of an important client tomorrow and Yoochun, being the control freak that he was, needed to dissect each slide of the presentation.
He was after all, didn’t inherit the Park Corp from his deceased father for nothing. Park Corp had been the biggest logistic company in Asia -second biggest in the world- and ever since Yoochun took seat at the helm, it had expanded to trading companies, relying on their logistic counterpart to do handle the delivery part and thus minimizing the cost. Yoochun himself had been trained as an heir to giant industry corporation the moment he learned how to read and his father had made sure that the heir was ready when the old man passed away five years ago.
At thirty three years of age, Park Yoochun was undoubtedly one of the most successful businessmen in all of Asia. Not only he was regularly featured in the list of Forbes’ 100 Richest People in the World, he was also made the yearly list of ‘Top 20 Most Desirable Bachelor’ every year.
He was single, rich, handsome, and married to his work, because when you were the CEO of one of the biggest companies in the world, you didn’t have time for relationship. Or for life, in general. His past relationships had all had messy breakups, simply because Yoochun put more than 90 hours per week in the office.
“Sajang-nim,” the secretary repeated with more urgency in her tone.
“I’ve told you that I do not want to be disturbed,” Yoochun growled at his secretary.
Other woman would have flinched from the obvious, blatant anger the CEO showed, but Victoria had not been a secretary for Park Yoochun since eight years ago for nothing. She put on her best poker face, the one she wore when she wanted to repel the unyielding visits of unwanted visitors and phone calls, as she replied her boss, “I know that Sajang-nim, but I cannot dismiss-“
“Whoever that is, tell them I’ll call them back later.”
“This one cannot be called back, sir, because they are from the Seoul Metropolitan Police.”
That caught Yoochun’s attention. He finally looked up from his laptop and stared at his secretary who stared back at him with a pointed look on her face. Yoochun’s mind whirled. He had not done anything that might bring the police to his office. He had paid his tax in time, reported the company’s earnings as stated and had not smuggled anything as far as he understood. Or was one of his workers were messing up with him?
“What?”
“The visitors are two police officers from the Child Supervision Division and they have a child with them, a six year old boy. And the boy says you are his father.”
+++
Yoochun stared in aghast at the small boy holding a raggedy robot toy in front of him. The toy had definitely seen better days, and from the look of it, so had the boy’s clothes. It was still winter and yet the boy was only clad in thin coat and worn out shoes. He was a skinny boy and looked as if he hadn’t been fed enough.
The only proof the boy had with him, to say that Yoochun was his father, was only a letter from the boy’s mother. She had obviously abandoned him few days ago, leaving the boy with nothing but a note and few handfuls of money. But when you left asix year old just so suddenly like that, you could expect nothing from the boy. He did not understand anything and he only thought that his mother was working or shopping for groceries.
It was only when he knocked on their neighbor’s door in an old apartment did the boy realized, that his mother had abandoned him just like that.
The neighbors, according to the two police officers, were not rich and they had too many children on their own already with no means to feed them. So they took the boy’s money and handed him to the police, saying that his mother had gone missing and now the boy was an orphan.
The boy had showed the two policemen a note, and they were bewildered at once. Park Yoochun was not an unknown man after all; he was famous and according to the gossip mill, was practically unapproachable. They had seen the news of his messy breakups spread all over the tabloids and to their knowledge, he had not taken any new girlfriends or boyfriends in the past few years.
They decided to call their supervisor, who called their Chief Inspector at once because this was Park Yoochun after all. You wouldn’t want to step on the wrong foot of Park Yoochun. The Chief Inspector suggested that they visit the Park Corp to confirm, and if the Sajang-nim said that this boy was not his, then the boy was not his.
No one doubted the words of Park Yoochun.
Meanwhile another unit had been dispatched to look for the mother and held her responsible. No one should abandon their children like that, no matter how hard the life was, and especially not to a six year old boy without proper notification. In the meantime while the police continued to look, and if Park Yoochun didn’t acknowledge the kid, the boy would be sent to a social house or an orphanage. It was as simple as that.
“He doesn’t look like me,” said Yoochun.
The two police officers shared uncomfortable look. They knew that the Sajang-nim had implied refusal, but they didn’t have the heart to leave this boy in an orphanage. The boy was clearly malnourished and in this winter no orphanage could be bothered with getting one more mouth to feed to.
The braver one of the two licked his lips before speaking. “But Sajang-nim, perhaps you’d like to read the mother’s letter by yourself?”
Yoochun sighed. “No I don’t need to read the letter. I know that the child is not mine.” He didn’t understand why the police would be so stubborn. He never had a sexual encounter with a poor woman. All his fuck buddies were all from their high-society circle, if they weren’t, then they must be aspiring actors/actresses or models. There was no way in the world he would be involved with someone who live in an old apartment and couldn’t take care of her son.
This mother, whoever she was, obviously only wanted some quick money and she thought she could succeed squeezing few million out of him. She didn’t stay because she knew that Yoochun wouldn’t recognize her and in that case she wouldn’t be able to milk any money from him.
“What’s all this?” suddenly Yoochun heard a voice he recognize.
He looked to see his friend and business associate, Jung Yunho stood in the doorway with a puzzled look on his face.
Yoochun cursed under his breath. He had almost forgotten that he was supposed to have a lunch meeting with Yunho and obviously he did not tell his secretary otherwise Victoria would have reminded him. The fact that Yunho was here meant that maybe Yunho had waited for him. The next thing that Yunho said confirmed his guess.
“We are supposed to meet up for lunch Yoochun. I waited at Blue Heaven for thirty minutes already.”
Victoria looked at her boss with murderous expression. Yoochun knew how his secretary hated not being informed of his schedule. “Sajang-nim,” she growled in low tone.
Yoochun shot an annoyed look at Yunho. He knew very well that he did not have any right to be angry at his friend now, but this whole business had begun to tick him. He did not like any surprises, even when he had good surprises and this one certainly did not meet any criteria of good.
“This kid said that I’m his father.”
“Are you?” Yunho replied with a raised eyebrow.
“Of course not,” Yoochun said with a scoff.
“What happened?” Yunho asked to the two policeman who immediately rattled the story from the beginning again. Yoochun re-listened the whole thing once again with a scowl. Poker face and business associate be damned, but this was not how he expected his day would be.
Yunho had a thoughtful look on his face as he scrutinized the boy. He then crouched down low to the boy’s height and asked, “What’s your name?”
“Minseok.”
“I see. My name is Yunho, a friend of that scowling man over there.”
“You mean that man,” Yoochun heard Minseok said, “the man who they said was my father but he said he wasn’t?”
To say that Yoochun was shocked was an understatement. The CEO did not expect a six year old boy to use such words and it was obvious that he had underestimated the kid. Minseok understood everything that had been exchanged between the adults in the room and he understood very well that Yoochun had refused him.
A trickle of guilt slithered to Yoochun. He might be a busy man and ruthless in work, but he was not a monster. He knew when he had made a mistake and when you’re dealing with a six year old kid, suddenly everything somehow became a mistake. He shouldn’t have rejected Minseok from the beginning like that, he should have done it when the boy was not in the room.
Yunho looked as surprised as Yoochun was but he nodded to answer the boy’s question. “Yes that man.” He then stood up and stared at Yoochun with a raised eyebrow, as if he was telling Yoochun something that could solve all this mess.
Oh shit. Yoochun knew exactly what his friend was thinking about -he had been friends with Yunho for many years now after all- and immediately grew alarmed. “No I will not do it. I will not listen to this… absurdity. This must stop once and for all.”
“And why not? In the spirit of doing things once and for all, let’s do it. If you are so sure that Minseok is not your son, then the DNA test would be an unquestionable proof.”
Yoochun hated it when people were playing his own words against him, and he hated it even more when he knew he had no choice but playing into other’s games. However, Jung Yunho spoke the truth. The DNA test might be a valid proof if the boy did not share his DNA. It just irked Yoochun that he knew he was walking into a trap and there was nothing he could do about it.
“Fine,” he said with gritted teeth, “let’s do the test.”
+++
Fifteen minutes later, the two friends found themselves finally having their lunch at the Blue Heaven. Yoochun stabbed into his fettuccini most ferociously and glared at Yunho, who seemed nonchalant and took a generous bite from a plate of lasagna. However Yunho seemed not to notice the glare, or perhaps he had developed immunity towards it since Yoochun had no idea when. Feeling discouraged, Yoochun went back to his own food.
“What will you do with Minseok in the meantime?” Yunho suddenly asked.
“What do you mean?”
Yunho shrugged. “You cannot expect Minseok to stay alone at your penthouse while they search for his mother.”
At that Yoochun frowned. He had not expected this. In his mind, he had done his duty as the ‘supposed-father’ when he had agreed to do the DNA test. So why would he need to take care of the boy as well? Park Yoochun neither have the time nor the inclination to do any babysitting. His work had taken majority of his time as it was and even then sometimes it wasn’t enough.
There was a very comfortable suede couch in his office and it was there for a reason. Yoochun rarely came home to his penthouse in downtown area, it was basically a waste of space and money to be very honest. Well, not really. It provided him with a home; someplace he could go home too if something went wrong at the office.
But it was not a place for a sixyear old boy. And the fact that Yunho expected him to somehow take care of Minseok, and even assuming that he would keep Minseok at the penthouse irked Yoochun to no end. He was not the boy’s father so why should he be bothered where the boy would stay?
“He’s not my son hyung, how many times do I have to tell you?”
Yunho glanced at Yoochun and the CEO knew that Yunho knew Yoochun was angry. He never called Yunho a ‘hyung’ if he was not angry at the man.
“You cannot say that unless the DNA test has been done and it has not. Victoria is still trying to squeeze the hospital visit to your already busy schedule and until the test yields any result, Minseok is in your care otherwise.”
Yoochun growled low. How dare Yunho suggest such thing? Yoochun was not an idle man, he had works to do, a company to run and he had no time to be bothered by taking care of a six year old. “I’ll ask Victoria to take care of the boy.”
But even then he knew it was not possible. Victoria would decline because she had three children of her own and one of them was barely a year. Her husband often had to travel as a photographer and as such she asked her mother to take care of the children. Yoochun knew even without asking his secretary that asking the old woman to take care of Minseok too was not an option.
The only option was to ask for a nanny to babysit him. Or maybe used daycare services, but daycare services could only help until, well, the day ended. Minseok still needed a place to sleep at night and because Yoochun was never at the penthouse it was impossible for a child to live there by himself.
Then nanny it is, Yoochun thought. He’d ask Victoria to look for one as soon as possible.
But somehow the thought didn’t sit well with him. Having a nanny in his penthouse, practically a stranger; the thought bothered Yoochun. He did not like to have strangers touching his things and who knew the nanny might use his penthouse for inappropriate use because Yoochun was never there.
This was one of Yoochun’s bad habits. He tended to think of the worst in people and call him paranoid, but he really had trust issues, especially with people he never met before. Perhaps if he had friends or relatives to ask to help him taking care of Minseok; that would be good. But that created another issues. Yoochun didn’t trust any of his living relatives, they were practically just leeching on his late father’s wealth and never mind asking help from friends.
He didn’t have any of those. Yunho was his only friend, asides from Kyuhyun who lived in Europe with his long-time boyfriend Choi Siwon. At some point, Yoochun gave up. He looked up to his best friend and asked, “Do you have anyone that I can ask to take care of that…boy?”
Yunho scrutinized him for a while. “Do you remember my cousin, Kim Junsu?” he finally asked.
Yoochun knew the name. Junsu was Yunho’s cousin from his mother’s side and Yoochun had met him on several occasions when they were children, and few more times when they were teenagers at Park’s family social function. The last time he heard of him, Junsu was pursuing a degree in Japan and they had lost contact since.
“He’s coming back to Korea few months ago and wants to apply a master degree here. The university won’t start until next semester, about five, six months from now and I believe he has free time on his hand at the moment.”
“Doesn’t he have anything to do while he’s waiting for the university to start?” Yoochun asked with a raised eyebrow. In his books there was nothing as “free time in one’s hands”. His own breaks between semesters back when he was still studying was always filled with learning his father’s business. And as far as Yoochun knew, Kim Junsu’s father was also a businessman. The Kim Family was known as hoteliers and chain restaurateurs.
“Well, he has tried to help his twin brother but I think Junsu doesn’t quite like it. His talent lies somewhere else and it’s not in business,” answered Yunho as he took a sip on the red wine.
Yoochun considered the arrangement for a while. He knew Kim Junsu, or at least, he knew of Kim Junsu. Yoochun would rather have someone he knew living in his penthouse rather than some unknown stranger. Besides if anything happened to his penthouse, Yoochun would hold Yunho responsible and that was insurance in itself.
“Alright. Let’s meet this cousin of yours later today. I want him to start tonight because I’m flying to Beijing tomorrow morning.”
Yunho nodded. He took out his phone and said, “I’ll call him now and tell him to come to your office this afternoon.”
+++
Kim Junsu was late.
There was nothing Yoochun hated more than tardiness. Even so, this was supposed to be the first meeting between an employee and his employer and Kim Junsu had the nerve to come in late. Yoochun felt his irritation starting to build up. It wasn’t like he had plenty of free time in his hands. Victoria could barely manage to squeeze in the appointment in Yoochun’s hectic schedule; she had to move two meetings in order to make the adjustment.
And now Kim Junsu was late without prior notice.
Well, you are hiring him because you need someone to look over Minseok. You need him, and not vice versa, Yoochun thought and he growled low as a result. The honest, painful, brutal fact. Well then.He didn’t have any right to complain in that case. He could only wait.
But still, the good work ethic that had been ingrained deep in his mind kept pointing out that at least Kim Junsu should have called earlier, even if it was to say that he was going to be late.
Yoochun sighed and decided to focus on the weekly report in front of him. He had filled this ‘suddenly-free-time’ to read a report instead of…getting even more pissed off. Because deep inside he knew: even though Kim Junsu would five hours late, Yoochun would still hire him.
He pointedly glanced at the door. Behind the door was Minseok, currently sitting with Victoria because Yoochun had made it clear he didn’t want to be disturbed except by the appearance of Kim Junsu, so there was no way he would let the boy sit with him at the office.
How can people think that boy was his? There was no way in hell that boy was his; the DNA test would prove that.
Suddenly his phone rang. Yunho’s name flashed on the screen. Yoochun didn’t bother to hide his irritation as he answered the phone. “Don’t tell me. He’s not interested in the job.”
There was a moment pause before Yunho replied. “He is interested in the job, but there’s an urgent issue he needs to take care of. He said he’ll come to your penthouse later tonight if you’re still willing to hire him.”
Yoochun could feel a headache coming in. He was supposed to have four more meetings today and it didn’t even include the continuous mounting paperwork he had to finish. And now he had to take Minseok back to his penthouse and stay there while waiting for his employee to arrive? Maybe he could persuade Victoria to take overtime tonight, at least until he was done with his meetings. He could do the paperwork at his penthouse then.
“If he doesn’t come before 10 PM, then he’s not hired,” Yoochun said curtly into the phone. He didn’t bother to wait for an answer as he ended the call and cursed slightly. Yunho was his best friend and they had been friends for so long already. Yunho would understand Yoochun’s habit and he knew there was nothing he hated more than messed up schedule.
This Kim Junsu, however, still had many things he had to learn.
But you’re not hiring him to learn your habits, you’re hiring him to take care of Minseok. Yoochun sighed. Well, as long as Kim Junsu did his job and wouldn’t bother him, Yoochun supposed he could tolerate any unpunctuality. It was just for few weeks anyway before the DNA test proved that the boy was not his, and he would not be hold responsible if he refused to take care of the kid.
+++
Kim Junsu came to his penthouse that night, three minutes before 10 PM. Yoochun was reading one of the reports from Supply Chain department and didn’t hear the door until there was an incessant pounding on it. Growling, he put down his reports and walked towards the door. This nanny really had some nerve. Not only did Kim Junsu not show up earlier, he very nearly cut it short with the time limit; three minutes were just as good as late in Yoochun’s opinion. Nonetheless Kim Junsu made it before 10 PM so Yoochun had to let it slide this one time.
The last time he saw Kim Junsu, it was when they were teenagers and he remembered the other as a cheerful teenager. But then again it was so many years ago, and Yoochun realized he shouldn’t have counted on that memory before meeting Kim Junsu.
The man who stood at the doorway was nothing like what he remembered. His hair was dyed pink and the man was clad in all black -dark jeans, black turtleneck with black cashmere coat- and it contrasted with his fair white skin. Kim Junsu also wore a pair of stylish sunglasses, even though it was night outside and he was actually in an apartment building. He had a long cross pendant dangling downward to his chest. His fingernails were polished black.
“Am I late?” Kim Junsu asked, his voice was rough and hoarse, like he had been screaming for hours.
Yoochun gave the other a contemplated look. “No you’re not,” he replied after a painful stretch of silence. “Four minutes more and you will be. You’re cutting it awfully close.” Yoochun stepped away from the door, giving permission for the newcomer to come in.
“I’m sorry,” he heard Kim Junsu said. “I will try to be more punctual next time.”
“Hmm.”Yoochun gestured at the other to sit down on the couch. He himself stacked away the reports he had been reading and put them on his briefcase. He would read these papers tomorrow morning on his flight to Beijing. Right now Kim Junsu needed his full attention. The man hadn’t taken off his sunglasses and somehow it irked Yoochun even more. What kind of impolite man would still wear his sunglasses when speaking to his soon-to-be-employer?
Clearing his throat a bit, Yoochun began. “What has Yunho told you?”
“That you’ll give me a job.”
“Did he explain more on what kind of job?”
“Only that you have a son that needs to be taken care of, and that you don’t have the time to do so.”
Yoochun bit back an annoyed growl. Right, so Yunho had begun telling other people that Minseok was his son now, hadn’t he? Nothing had been confirmed yet, but apparently Yunho had made up his mind on the subject. However, Yunho was known to be discreet and tactful, so Yoochun trusted him enough not to spread this around. Maybe he just talked to Kim Junsu because, well, Junsu was the one who would take care of Minseok later.
Sighing, Yoochun decided to clear few things up. “First of all, Minseok is not my son and I appreciate it if you will keep this to yourself. We will do a DNA test to find out the truth, but until the test has been done, I cannot acknowledge him as my son yet. Second, I’ll be flying to Beijing tomorrow morning and will stay there for a week. That’s why I need you to take care of Minseok while I’m gone. I’ll leave a key to this apartment so you can go check on him whenever you want.”
“…check on him whenever I want?” Kim Junsu sounded doubtful.
Yoochun frowned. Did he say something wrong? He was about to say something else when a loud wail was heard from the guest bedroom. Minseok had been sleeping there for the last hour but apparently now he was awake. Yoochun sighed. This was exactly why he didn’t want to have kids around. They were noisy, they were annoying and they interrupted important conversations all the time as if they had every right to do so.
But actually, this might be a good time to test out the new nanny. He gazed towards Kim Junsu, who was still looking at the guest bedroom’s door, obviously confused by the sudden noise. “Go on,” Yoochun said, “Let’s see how good you are with kids.”
A credit to his appearance, Kim Junsu only looked at Yoochun for a moment before standing up, the designer sunglasses still in place. He walked towards the bedroom and opened the door slightly, with Yoochun watching his movements all the time.
Kim Junsu then switched on the lights. Yoochun heard Minseok’s loud wail stopped, followed by few murmurs. Feeling curious he stepped closer to the open door, but not close enough to really hear what Kim Junsu was saying to Minseok. Nevertheless the words seemed to be working somehow because not five minutes later, Kim Junsu had tucked Minseok back under the covers. He stayed there until the boy was really asleep before switching off the lights again.
Yoochun was impressed. He himself had no experience whatsoever in child-rearing but Kim Junsu managed to calm Minseok down just like that. The man did that with his fucking sunglasses on even and that somehow convinced Yoochun even more.
Although, speaking of those sunglasses, he wondered why Kim Junsu insisted on wearing it. Yoochun decided to test the water. “You’re hired,” he said later when the two of them were settled back at the couch, “Now let’s talk arrangements. You know that I have a company to run and can’t possibly be here all the time. As I’ve told you before I’ll give you a key so you can-“
“I’m not very comfortable with that,” Kim Junsu suddenly cut him off.
Not accustomed at being cut midway, Yoochun was caught off guard. An irritation built up inside him and his tone got slightly lower as per his habit when he was getting irritated. “What do you mean you’re not comfortable?” This was ridiculous; he did not hire Kim Junsu to make him comfortable.
“The boy there, Minseok, he’s obviously terrified being alone in this huge apartment. Are you really going to leave him here by himself?”
As per his habit as a businessman, Yoochun’s logic came around before he said anything. A good businessman always thought before he speaks, and the more Yoochun thought about it, the more what Kim Junsu said made sense. Minseok was scared and who knows, he might end up running away or got himself in trouble. Yoochun couldn’t afford that. The police had known that Minseok was under his care, if something bad happened to the boy, Yoochun might end up in difficult situation.
“….what are you suggesting?” he finally asked.
“Well he could come and live with me and maybe-“
“No, definitely not.” As much as Yoochun hated to admit it, he was not going to leave Minseok with this man. He didn’t trust Kim Junsu enough and besides, if this whole messiness got out somehow, those damn tabloids might hear. The last he needed right now was having his face spread around the front page and being accused as a cruel, uncaring bastard. It didn’t matter if that was the truth, just as long as it didn’t get out.
“Minseok is staying here and it’s final.”
“Well then I guess I’m staying here too,” Kim Junsu said with a shrug. “Shall I sleep in Minseok’s room?”
-End of Chapter One-
Pairing: Yoochun x Junsu
Genre: Romance
Rating: PG-13 for now
Warnings: male x male relationship, hinted child abuse
Disclaimer: I do not own DBSK/JYJ
Summary: But sometimes we learn something new about the past that changes everything about the present.
Unbeta-ed, all mistakes are mine.
---
Author's Note: Thank you all for your comments and supports in the previous post. It really meant a lot to me. Every word of encouragement flicker a tiny bit of hope in my heart and by the end I'm reading through all the comments, I had tears in my eyes. I'm sure I'll go back and reread everything again and again, just to ensure myself that so many people are wishing me and my family well :)
I only know one way to convey how grateful I am, and that is to post a fic. It's something I've been working on for a while and hadn't posted yet.
Don't know how I can update the next chapter though :(
Enjoy.
Special thanks to ichigotabetai, chihana11 and italina_bella. You guys are amazing.
Finders are Keepers
Chapter One
By: Sharl
But sometimes we learn something new about the past that changes everything about the present.
+++
“Sajang-nim, there is someone who wants to see you.”
Yoochun didn’t even bother to look up from the presentation he was reading on. His marketing department needed to present this in front of an important client tomorrow and Yoochun, being the control freak that he was, needed to dissect each slide of the presentation.
He was after all, didn’t inherit the Park Corp from his deceased father for nothing. Park Corp had been the biggest logistic company in Asia -second biggest in the world- and ever since Yoochun took seat at the helm, it had expanded to trading companies, relying on their logistic counterpart to do handle the delivery part and thus minimizing the cost. Yoochun himself had been trained as an heir to giant industry corporation the moment he learned how to read and his father had made sure that the heir was ready when the old man passed away five years ago.
At thirty three years of age, Park Yoochun was undoubtedly one of the most successful businessmen in all of Asia. Not only he was regularly featured in the list of Forbes’ 100 Richest People in the World, he was also made the yearly list of ‘Top 20 Most Desirable Bachelor’ every year.
He was single, rich, handsome, and married to his work, because when you were the CEO of one of the biggest companies in the world, you didn’t have time for relationship. Or for life, in general. His past relationships had all had messy breakups, simply because Yoochun put more than 90 hours per week in the office.
“Sajang-nim,” the secretary repeated with more urgency in her tone.
“I’ve told you that I do not want to be disturbed,” Yoochun growled at his secretary.
Other woman would have flinched from the obvious, blatant anger the CEO showed, but Victoria had not been a secretary for Park Yoochun since eight years ago for nothing. She put on her best poker face, the one she wore when she wanted to repel the unyielding visits of unwanted visitors and phone calls, as she replied her boss, “I know that Sajang-nim, but I cannot dismiss-“
“Whoever that is, tell them I’ll call them back later.”
“This one cannot be called back, sir, because they are from the Seoul Metropolitan Police.”
That caught Yoochun’s attention. He finally looked up from his laptop and stared at his secretary who stared back at him with a pointed look on her face. Yoochun’s mind whirled. He had not done anything that might bring the police to his office. He had paid his tax in time, reported the company’s earnings as stated and had not smuggled anything as far as he understood. Or was one of his workers were messing up with him?
“What?”
“The visitors are two police officers from the Child Supervision Division and they have a child with them, a six year old boy. And the boy says you are his father.”
+++
Yoochun stared in aghast at the small boy holding a raggedy robot toy in front of him. The toy had definitely seen better days, and from the look of it, so had the boy’s clothes. It was still winter and yet the boy was only clad in thin coat and worn out shoes. He was a skinny boy and looked as if he hadn’t been fed enough.
The only proof the boy had with him, to say that Yoochun was his father, was only a letter from the boy’s mother. She had obviously abandoned him few days ago, leaving the boy with nothing but a note and few handfuls of money. But when you left asix year old just so suddenly like that, you could expect nothing from the boy. He did not understand anything and he only thought that his mother was working or shopping for groceries.
It was only when he knocked on their neighbor’s door in an old apartment did the boy realized, that his mother had abandoned him just like that.
The neighbors, according to the two police officers, were not rich and they had too many children on their own already with no means to feed them. So they took the boy’s money and handed him to the police, saying that his mother had gone missing and now the boy was an orphan.
The boy had showed the two policemen a note, and they were bewildered at once. Park Yoochun was not an unknown man after all; he was famous and according to the gossip mill, was practically unapproachable. They had seen the news of his messy breakups spread all over the tabloids and to their knowledge, he had not taken any new girlfriends or boyfriends in the past few years.
They decided to call their supervisor, who called their Chief Inspector at once because this was Park Yoochun after all. You wouldn’t want to step on the wrong foot of Park Yoochun. The Chief Inspector suggested that they visit the Park Corp to confirm, and if the Sajang-nim said that this boy was not his, then the boy was not his.
No one doubted the words of Park Yoochun.
Meanwhile another unit had been dispatched to look for the mother and held her responsible. No one should abandon their children like that, no matter how hard the life was, and especially not to a six year old boy without proper notification. In the meantime while the police continued to look, and if Park Yoochun didn’t acknowledge the kid, the boy would be sent to a social house or an orphanage. It was as simple as that.
“He doesn’t look like me,” said Yoochun.
The two police officers shared uncomfortable look. They knew that the Sajang-nim had implied refusal, but they didn’t have the heart to leave this boy in an orphanage. The boy was clearly malnourished and in this winter no orphanage could be bothered with getting one more mouth to feed to.
The braver one of the two licked his lips before speaking. “But Sajang-nim, perhaps you’d like to read the mother’s letter by yourself?”
Yoochun sighed. “No I don’t need to read the letter. I know that the child is not mine.” He didn’t understand why the police would be so stubborn. He never had a sexual encounter with a poor woman. All his fuck buddies were all from their high-society circle, if they weren’t, then they must be aspiring actors/actresses or models. There was no way in the world he would be involved with someone who live in an old apartment and couldn’t take care of her son.
This mother, whoever she was, obviously only wanted some quick money and she thought she could succeed squeezing few million out of him. She didn’t stay because she knew that Yoochun wouldn’t recognize her and in that case she wouldn’t be able to milk any money from him.
“What’s all this?” suddenly Yoochun heard a voice he recognize.
He looked to see his friend and business associate, Jung Yunho stood in the doorway with a puzzled look on his face.
Yoochun cursed under his breath. He had almost forgotten that he was supposed to have a lunch meeting with Yunho and obviously he did not tell his secretary otherwise Victoria would have reminded him. The fact that Yunho was here meant that maybe Yunho had waited for him. The next thing that Yunho said confirmed his guess.
“We are supposed to meet up for lunch Yoochun. I waited at Blue Heaven for thirty minutes already.”
Victoria looked at her boss with murderous expression. Yoochun knew how his secretary hated not being informed of his schedule. “Sajang-nim,” she growled in low tone.
Yoochun shot an annoyed look at Yunho. He knew very well that he did not have any right to be angry at his friend now, but this whole business had begun to tick him. He did not like any surprises, even when he had good surprises and this one certainly did not meet any criteria of good.
“This kid said that I’m his father.”
“Are you?” Yunho replied with a raised eyebrow.
“Of course not,” Yoochun said with a scoff.
“What happened?” Yunho asked to the two policeman who immediately rattled the story from the beginning again. Yoochun re-listened the whole thing once again with a scowl. Poker face and business associate be damned, but this was not how he expected his day would be.
Yunho had a thoughtful look on his face as he scrutinized the boy. He then crouched down low to the boy’s height and asked, “What’s your name?”
“Minseok.”
“I see. My name is Yunho, a friend of that scowling man over there.”
“You mean that man,” Yoochun heard Minseok said, “the man who they said was my father but he said he wasn’t?”
To say that Yoochun was shocked was an understatement. The CEO did not expect a six year old boy to use such words and it was obvious that he had underestimated the kid. Minseok understood everything that had been exchanged between the adults in the room and he understood very well that Yoochun had refused him.
A trickle of guilt slithered to Yoochun. He might be a busy man and ruthless in work, but he was not a monster. He knew when he had made a mistake and when you’re dealing with a six year old kid, suddenly everything somehow became a mistake. He shouldn’t have rejected Minseok from the beginning like that, he should have done it when the boy was not in the room.
Yunho looked as surprised as Yoochun was but he nodded to answer the boy’s question. “Yes that man.” He then stood up and stared at Yoochun with a raised eyebrow, as if he was telling Yoochun something that could solve all this mess.
Oh shit. Yoochun knew exactly what his friend was thinking about -he had been friends with Yunho for many years now after all- and immediately grew alarmed. “No I will not do it. I will not listen to this… absurdity. This must stop once and for all.”
“And why not? In the spirit of doing things once and for all, let’s do it. If you are so sure that Minseok is not your son, then the DNA test would be an unquestionable proof.”
Yoochun hated it when people were playing his own words against him, and he hated it even more when he knew he had no choice but playing into other’s games. However, Jung Yunho spoke the truth. The DNA test might be a valid proof if the boy did not share his DNA. It just irked Yoochun that he knew he was walking into a trap and there was nothing he could do about it.
“Fine,” he said with gritted teeth, “let’s do the test.”
+++
Fifteen minutes later, the two friends found themselves finally having their lunch at the Blue Heaven. Yoochun stabbed into his fettuccini most ferociously and glared at Yunho, who seemed nonchalant and took a generous bite from a plate of lasagna. However Yunho seemed not to notice the glare, or perhaps he had developed immunity towards it since Yoochun had no idea when. Feeling discouraged, Yoochun went back to his own food.
“What will you do with Minseok in the meantime?” Yunho suddenly asked.
“What do you mean?”
Yunho shrugged. “You cannot expect Minseok to stay alone at your penthouse while they search for his mother.”
At that Yoochun frowned. He had not expected this. In his mind, he had done his duty as the ‘supposed-father’ when he had agreed to do the DNA test. So why would he need to take care of the boy as well? Park Yoochun neither have the time nor the inclination to do any babysitting. His work had taken majority of his time as it was and even then sometimes it wasn’t enough.
There was a very comfortable suede couch in his office and it was there for a reason. Yoochun rarely came home to his penthouse in downtown area, it was basically a waste of space and money to be very honest. Well, not really. It provided him with a home; someplace he could go home too if something went wrong at the office.
But it was not a place for a sixyear old boy. And the fact that Yunho expected him to somehow take care of Minseok, and even assuming that he would keep Minseok at the penthouse irked Yoochun to no end. He was not the boy’s father so why should he be bothered where the boy would stay?
“He’s not my son hyung, how many times do I have to tell you?”
Yunho glanced at Yoochun and the CEO knew that Yunho knew Yoochun was angry. He never called Yunho a ‘hyung’ if he was not angry at the man.
“You cannot say that unless the DNA test has been done and it has not. Victoria is still trying to squeeze the hospital visit to your already busy schedule and until the test yields any result, Minseok is in your care otherwise.”
Yoochun growled low. How dare Yunho suggest such thing? Yoochun was not an idle man, he had works to do, a company to run and he had no time to be bothered by taking care of a six year old. “I’ll ask Victoria to take care of the boy.”
But even then he knew it was not possible. Victoria would decline because she had three children of her own and one of them was barely a year. Her husband often had to travel as a photographer and as such she asked her mother to take care of the children. Yoochun knew even without asking his secretary that asking the old woman to take care of Minseok too was not an option.
The only option was to ask for a nanny to babysit him. Or maybe used daycare services, but daycare services could only help until, well, the day ended. Minseok still needed a place to sleep at night and because Yoochun was never at the penthouse it was impossible for a child to live there by himself.
Then nanny it is, Yoochun thought. He’d ask Victoria to look for one as soon as possible.
But somehow the thought didn’t sit well with him. Having a nanny in his penthouse, practically a stranger; the thought bothered Yoochun. He did not like to have strangers touching his things and who knew the nanny might use his penthouse for inappropriate use because Yoochun was never there.
This was one of Yoochun’s bad habits. He tended to think of the worst in people and call him paranoid, but he really had trust issues, especially with people he never met before. Perhaps if he had friends or relatives to ask to help him taking care of Minseok; that would be good. But that created another issues. Yoochun didn’t trust any of his living relatives, they were practically just leeching on his late father’s wealth and never mind asking help from friends.
He didn’t have any of those. Yunho was his only friend, asides from Kyuhyun who lived in Europe with his long-time boyfriend Choi Siwon. At some point, Yoochun gave up. He looked up to his best friend and asked, “Do you have anyone that I can ask to take care of that…boy?”
Yunho scrutinized him for a while. “Do you remember my cousin, Kim Junsu?” he finally asked.
Yoochun knew the name. Junsu was Yunho’s cousin from his mother’s side and Yoochun had met him on several occasions when they were children, and few more times when they were teenagers at Park’s family social function. The last time he heard of him, Junsu was pursuing a degree in Japan and they had lost contact since.
“He’s coming back to Korea few months ago and wants to apply a master degree here. The university won’t start until next semester, about five, six months from now and I believe he has free time on his hand at the moment.”
“Doesn’t he have anything to do while he’s waiting for the university to start?” Yoochun asked with a raised eyebrow. In his books there was nothing as “free time in one’s hands”. His own breaks between semesters back when he was still studying was always filled with learning his father’s business. And as far as Yoochun knew, Kim Junsu’s father was also a businessman. The Kim Family was known as hoteliers and chain restaurateurs.
“Well, he has tried to help his twin brother but I think Junsu doesn’t quite like it. His talent lies somewhere else and it’s not in business,” answered Yunho as he took a sip on the red wine.
Yoochun considered the arrangement for a while. He knew Kim Junsu, or at least, he knew of Kim Junsu. Yoochun would rather have someone he knew living in his penthouse rather than some unknown stranger. Besides if anything happened to his penthouse, Yoochun would hold Yunho responsible and that was insurance in itself.
“Alright. Let’s meet this cousin of yours later today. I want him to start tonight because I’m flying to Beijing tomorrow morning.”
Yunho nodded. He took out his phone and said, “I’ll call him now and tell him to come to your office this afternoon.”
+++
Kim Junsu was late.
There was nothing Yoochun hated more than tardiness. Even so, this was supposed to be the first meeting between an employee and his employer and Kim Junsu had the nerve to come in late. Yoochun felt his irritation starting to build up. It wasn’t like he had plenty of free time in his hands. Victoria could barely manage to squeeze in the appointment in Yoochun’s hectic schedule; she had to move two meetings in order to make the adjustment.
And now Kim Junsu was late without prior notice.
Well, you are hiring him because you need someone to look over Minseok. You need him, and not vice versa, Yoochun thought and he growled low as a result. The honest, painful, brutal fact. Well then.He didn’t have any right to complain in that case. He could only wait.
But still, the good work ethic that had been ingrained deep in his mind kept pointing out that at least Kim Junsu should have called earlier, even if it was to say that he was going to be late.
Yoochun sighed and decided to focus on the weekly report in front of him. He had filled this ‘suddenly-free-time’ to read a report instead of…getting even more pissed off. Because deep inside he knew: even though Kim Junsu would five hours late, Yoochun would still hire him.
He pointedly glanced at the door. Behind the door was Minseok, currently sitting with Victoria because Yoochun had made it clear he didn’t want to be disturbed except by the appearance of Kim Junsu, so there was no way he would let the boy sit with him at the office.
How can people think that boy was his? There was no way in hell that boy was his; the DNA test would prove that.
Suddenly his phone rang. Yunho’s name flashed on the screen. Yoochun didn’t bother to hide his irritation as he answered the phone. “Don’t tell me. He’s not interested in the job.”
There was a moment pause before Yunho replied. “He is interested in the job, but there’s an urgent issue he needs to take care of. He said he’ll come to your penthouse later tonight if you’re still willing to hire him.”
Yoochun could feel a headache coming in. He was supposed to have four more meetings today and it didn’t even include the continuous mounting paperwork he had to finish. And now he had to take Minseok back to his penthouse and stay there while waiting for his employee to arrive? Maybe he could persuade Victoria to take overtime tonight, at least until he was done with his meetings. He could do the paperwork at his penthouse then.
“If he doesn’t come before 10 PM, then he’s not hired,” Yoochun said curtly into the phone. He didn’t bother to wait for an answer as he ended the call and cursed slightly. Yunho was his best friend and they had been friends for so long already. Yunho would understand Yoochun’s habit and he knew there was nothing he hated more than messed up schedule.
This Kim Junsu, however, still had many things he had to learn.
But you’re not hiring him to learn your habits, you’re hiring him to take care of Minseok. Yoochun sighed. Well, as long as Kim Junsu did his job and wouldn’t bother him, Yoochun supposed he could tolerate any unpunctuality. It was just for few weeks anyway before the DNA test proved that the boy was not his, and he would not be hold responsible if he refused to take care of the kid.
+++
Kim Junsu came to his penthouse that night, three minutes before 10 PM. Yoochun was reading one of the reports from Supply Chain department and didn’t hear the door until there was an incessant pounding on it. Growling, he put down his reports and walked towards the door. This nanny really had some nerve. Not only did Kim Junsu not show up earlier, he very nearly cut it short with the time limit; three minutes were just as good as late in Yoochun’s opinion. Nonetheless Kim Junsu made it before 10 PM so Yoochun had to let it slide this one time.
The last time he saw Kim Junsu, it was when they were teenagers and he remembered the other as a cheerful teenager. But then again it was so many years ago, and Yoochun realized he shouldn’t have counted on that memory before meeting Kim Junsu.
The man who stood at the doorway was nothing like what he remembered. His hair was dyed pink and the man was clad in all black -dark jeans, black turtleneck with black cashmere coat- and it contrasted with his fair white skin. Kim Junsu also wore a pair of stylish sunglasses, even though it was night outside and he was actually in an apartment building. He had a long cross pendant dangling downward to his chest. His fingernails were polished black.
“Am I late?” Kim Junsu asked, his voice was rough and hoarse, like he had been screaming for hours.
Yoochun gave the other a contemplated look. “No you’re not,” he replied after a painful stretch of silence. “Four minutes more and you will be. You’re cutting it awfully close.” Yoochun stepped away from the door, giving permission for the newcomer to come in.
“I’m sorry,” he heard Kim Junsu said. “I will try to be more punctual next time.”
“Hmm.”Yoochun gestured at the other to sit down on the couch. He himself stacked away the reports he had been reading and put them on his briefcase. He would read these papers tomorrow morning on his flight to Beijing. Right now Kim Junsu needed his full attention. The man hadn’t taken off his sunglasses and somehow it irked Yoochun even more. What kind of impolite man would still wear his sunglasses when speaking to his soon-to-be-employer?
Clearing his throat a bit, Yoochun began. “What has Yunho told you?”
“That you’ll give me a job.”
“Did he explain more on what kind of job?”
“Only that you have a son that needs to be taken care of, and that you don’t have the time to do so.”
Yoochun bit back an annoyed growl. Right, so Yunho had begun telling other people that Minseok was his son now, hadn’t he? Nothing had been confirmed yet, but apparently Yunho had made up his mind on the subject. However, Yunho was known to be discreet and tactful, so Yoochun trusted him enough not to spread this around. Maybe he just talked to Kim Junsu because, well, Junsu was the one who would take care of Minseok later.
Sighing, Yoochun decided to clear few things up. “First of all, Minseok is not my son and I appreciate it if you will keep this to yourself. We will do a DNA test to find out the truth, but until the test has been done, I cannot acknowledge him as my son yet. Second, I’ll be flying to Beijing tomorrow morning and will stay there for a week. That’s why I need you to take care of Minseok while I’m gone. I’ll leave a key to this apartment so you can go check on him whenever you want.”
“…check on him whenever I want?” Kim Junsu sounded doubtful.
Yoochun frowned. Did he say something wrong? He was about to say something else when a loud wail was heard from the guest bedroom. Minseok had been sleeping there for the last hour but apparently now he was awake. Yoochun sighed. This was exactly why he didn’t want to have kids around. They were noisy, they were annoying and they interrupted important conversations all the time as if they had every right to do so.
But actually, this might be a good time to test out the new nanny. He gazed towards Kim Junsu, who was still looking at the guest bedroom’s door, obviously confused by the sudden noise. “Go on,” Yoochun said, “Let’s see how good you are with kids.”
A credit to his appearance, Kim Junsu only looked at Yoochun for a moment before standing up, the designer sunglasses still in place. He walked towards the bedroom and opened the door slightly, with Yoochun watching his movements all the time.
Kim Junsu then switched on the lights. Yoochun heard Minseok’s loud wail stopped, followed by few murmurs. Feeling curious he stepped closer to the open door, but not close enough to really hear what Kim Junsu was saying to Minseok. Nevertheless the words seemed to be working somehow because not five minutes later, Kim Junsu had tucked Minseok back under the covers. He stayed there until the boy was really asleep before switching off the lights again.
Yoochun was impressed. He himself had no experience whatsoever in child-rearing but Kim Junsu managed to calm Minseok down just like that. The man did that with his fucking sunglasses on even and that somehow convinced Yoochun even more.
Although, speaking of those sunglasses, he wondered why Kim Junsu insisted on wearing it. Yoochun decided to test the water. “You’re hired,” he said later when the two of them were settled back at the couch, “Now let’s talk arrangements. You know that I have a company to run and can’t possibly be here all the time. As I’ve told you before I’ll give you a key so you can-“
“I’m not very comfortable with that,” Kim Junsu suddenly cut him off.
Not accustomed at being cut midway, Yoochun was caught off guard. An irritation built up inside him and his tone got slightly lower as per his habit when he was getting irritated. “What do you mean you’re not comfortable?” This was ridiculous; he did not hire Kim Junsu to make him comfortable.
“The boy there, Minseok, he’s obviously terrified being alone in this huge apartment. Are you really going to leave him here by himself?”
As per his habit as a businessman, Yoochun’s logic came around before he said anything. A good businessman always thought before he speaks, and the more Yoochun thought about it, the more what Kim Junsu said made sense. Minseok was scared and who knows, he might end up running away or got himself in trouble. Yoochun couldn’t afford that. The police had known that Minseok was under his care, if something bad happened to the boy, Yoochun might end up in difficult situation.
“….what are you suggesting?” he finally asked.
“Well he could come and live with me and maybe-“
“No, definitely not.” As much as Yoochun hated to admit it, he was not going to leave Minseok with this man. He didn’t trust Kim Junsu enough and besides, if this whole messiness got out somehow, those damn tabloids might hear. The last he needed right now was having his face spread around the front page and being accused as a cruel, uncaring bastard. It didn’t matter if that was the truth, just as long as it didn’t get out.
“Minseok is staying here and it’s final.”
“Well then I guess I’m staying here too,” Kim Junsu said with a shrug. “Shall I sleep in Minseok’s room?”
-End of Chapter One-