TVXQ Chapter 14 part two
~*~
“I’ll stop drinking, YunHo.”
YunHo looked up in surprise, caught off guard by the sudden presence of JaeJoong in their bedroom. The leader had figured that JaeJoong was out again, lost in the streets of Seoul. “What?”
“I’ll stop drinking, after tonight.” JaeJoong said, walking further into the room. YunHo was ready to speak, but JaeJoong cut him off with a raised hand. “Only if you agree to come with me tonight. I want to show you why I started doing this.”
“JaeJoong,” YunHo sighed, “We have to wake up pretty early tomorrow.”
The older man waved a hand and moved to the closet, pulling it open so that he could peer inside. “No no, we won’t stay out late, we’re not going to drink…I just want to go dancing with you.”
YunHo stared at the other man’s back, wondering what exactly the singer was trying to get at. They hadn’t spoken since their argument around lunch time, and now JaeJoong wanted to go dancing? Furrowing his brow, he was surprised to see JaeJoong turn around with one of his shirts in hand.
“Put this on,” JaeJoong said, walking forward and offering the shirt to the other man. “And change your pants, we’ll be ready then.”
“I never said I was going.” YunHo said as he accepted the shirt, looking up at the fatally beautiful man above him.
JaeJoong simply shrugged and let a slithering smile cross his lips, “I think you are, meet me outside.” JaeJoong turned and walked away, closing the door behind him.
YunHo looked down at the shirt; it was a clingy piece of black fabric that he had worn for a photo shoot once. He had sworn to himself that he’d never wear it again, simply because he hated the way it accentuated some parts of his chest. But, he stood slowly and walked to the drawers across from their beds. He figured a fitted pair of rather tight jeans would work. He dressed himself and peered in the mirror from the door to the bathroom, his hair looked fine, he didn’t like the shadow his plush lip cast on his chin, but he didn’t really have the time to find a stylist to powder it away.
He wasn’t totally sure why he was even going out to a dance club with JaeJoong. What was so compelling about the other singer than YunHo couldn’t deny? There was something inherently wrong with how the curve of JaeJoong’s mouth could coax him into doing things he didn’t want to. It’d always worked that way, truly, from the very moment they met one another. YunHo always listened to JaeJoong and the feral singer always seemed to do just the opposite. YunHo knew that was the attraction of the other man, the reason every breath seemed to be taken for the slightly older man.
The apartment was quiet, except for the soft hum of JaeJoong’s song as he waited by the door for YunHo. The song was eerily familiar and YunHo wished he could place where he’d heard it. It wasn’t a song that TVXQ released; instead it was slower and sounded a lot more mystical than anything they released. As YunHo neared the door, he was able to pick out the words of the song. They weren’t in modern Korean.
“What are you singing?” YunHo asked, surprised to see JaeJoong jump away, startled.
“A song?” JaeJoong said, furrowing his brow as he plucked one of YunHo’s fitted jackets off of a hanger. He offered it to YunHo and then pulled the collar of his own long, tight jacket around his slim body. “Put this on, it’s cold outside.”
YunHo slipped the jacket over his shoulders and studied JaeJoong carefully. “Where did you learn that song?”
“I don’t know,” JaeJoong said as he pulled the door open. “I’ve always known it. I’m sure my mother sang it to me when I was little.”
YunHo left it at that, though he knew exactly where the song was from; JaeJoong sang it all the time in his dreams. “Where are we going?” He asked, leaving the song alone for now.
“To some club I like. It’s really exclusive, we’ll be fine.” JaeJoong was already out the door and to the elevator, a finger pressing the down arrow button impatiently.
“Press it harder, it might come faster, JaeJoong ah.” YunHo said softly as he waited, finding the other’s little nervous tick to be a bit endearing in that moment.
JaeJoong looked over his shoulder at the caring additive to his name. He smiled a little bit, the corner of his mouth lifting sweetly. “I figured it might.” His voice was softer than YunHo’s and the end of it was hidden by the beep of the elevator.
Silver doors slid open to bid welcome to the two singers and both stepped in, standing on opposite sides of the small box. Tae Jinah sang a flowery Korean traditional song over the speakers and YunHo wished that they would speak, so as to cover the sound of the music. Yeah, it was a historic song, but it wasn’t fitted to the mood in the elevator at all. Floors ticked downwards, the soft sound of a sweet Korean woman’s voice soon announcing that they had arrived on the ground floor.
YunHo was thankful that the usually ever present gathering of fans seemed to have dispersed for the evening. He loved the girls and some of them were so persistent that it seemed he knew their names, and even the districts of Seoul they lived in. He was certain that if they knew that, they’d never go away, but their presence that evening would have been only an added annoyance to the already tense band leader.
“I miss our girls,” JaeJoong said, as if he had been reading YunHo’s mind. The tone in the other’s voice was flat, so it was hard to tell if he was kidding or not. They stayed together as they walked through the foyer of their hotel, smiling briefly at the doormen and security officers that always stood ready to protect the hundreds of Korea’s finest that dwelled inside.
JaeJoong’s shapely hand flagged down a taxi and with a muttered address to the driver, they were soon on their way to the dance club. JaeJoong curled himself into one corner of the seat and peered out the window. To YunHo, his curious eyes looked childish, but the leader wasn’t about to be deceived. JaeJoong’s mind was far from immature. He often thought in complex ways, often making things more confusing and serious than needed.
The silence between them seemed to be mutually comfortable and even as they pulled into the curved valet strip of the club, no words were shared. There was a large line of people outside the simple black building. As YunHo slid from the taxi, he was surprised to hear a chorus of cheers at the appearance of the two celebrities. There seemed to be quite a few people who were excited to see the Dong Bang boys.
“Exclusive?” YunHo asked as he walked with JaeJoong towards the entrance.
JaeJoong wore a smirk that would have been admirable if it weren’t for the implications of being at a club that was far from celebrity safe. The doorman let them in ahead of the line without question and soon YunHo felt JaeJoong’s strong grip on his arm as the dancing crowd seemed to envelope them right away.
The room was dark and YunHo was thankful for that. Neon lights lit the walls and hung from the ceilings like spider webs. The only area that seemed to be navigational was the bar which was lit with bright florescent back lights. Everyone seemed to be dressed to the nines in expensive clothes with expensive hair styles and expensive drinks suspended in the air. YunHo noticed a few drinks had glow lights in them and he supposed they were needed in this place.
JaeJoong stopped suddenly, turning around to face YunHo. The song above them was thick and dark, the lyrics speaking in English about hurting…crying…and some other ‘ing’ verbs that were lost in YunHo’s limited vocabulary. YunHo recognized the singer as a favorite of his, Justin Timberlake. JaeJoong was distracting, though, as suddenly his hand was on YunHo’s chin, holding his face.
“Dance with me, YunHo. I promise I’ll remember this one.” JaeJoong’s words threw YunHo’s reserve to the wind and the dancer looked down at his friend. JaeJoong remembered the night before? He remembered what YunHo had said?
“Don’t talk, just dance.” JaeJoong’s hand dropped from YunHo’s mouth to his side, where he curled his hand into the curve of YunHo’s side.
YunHo knew how to dance. He’d gotten to where he was now, a celebrity, because of his ability to dance. He wasn’t sure why he felt nervous as JaeJoong let himself fall into the beat pounding their ears. No one could see them in the dark corner that JaeJoong had brought them too. There was nothing stopping him, except the nervousness dripping into his stomach from his heart like a poison. The beat of the song turned into a high pitched techno beat and YunHo let his eyes close. Just dance.
He moved gently at first, keeping his body from touching JaeJoong as the music swirled around him. YunHo liked music. No, he loved music. He always had, from his young days to that very second right there in the club. YunHo could do this, he could dance. He felt a tingle on his skin, though, as he felt JaeJoong’s hand slide further up his side. Their chests touched and YunHo opened his eyes. JaeJoong wasn’t looking at him; instead his eyes were hooded as he watched the ground, moving his body to the beat. JaeJoong certainly wasn’t the best dancer YunHo had ever met, in fact, the leader was almost positive that JaeJoong was the worst dancer in their group. But, the lack of talent seemed to seep into JaeJoong and make his moves completely unique. JaeJoong was comfortable with the way he moved.
The song changed to something much deeper then and JaeJoong looked up, his eyes seeming surprised to see YunHo already looking at him. JaeJoong leaned in, his words whispering on YunHo’s neck as he spoke loud enough to be heard over the music.
“I asked you to dance with me, not with yourself.” JaeJoong made a move that startled YunHo then. He pulled himself close against YunHo’s and turned around, placing his head on YunHo’s shoulder. “Just relax YunHo, we’ve danced before.”
“Not like this, JaeJoong.” YunHo murmured softly, looking around to see if he could see any questioning eyes pointed in their direction. He doubted it, but he couldn’t help the paranoia in his nerves.
“There’s nothing different about this,” JaeJoong said, his hips rolling in a way YunHo was certain should be banned.
“It’s completely different. There’s nothing similar to this,” YunHo huffed but he kept the dancing, just because he knew a lack of movement would unseat JaeJoong’s balance.
“I can think of a few things similar to this.” JaeJoong’s words had a huskiness to them that YunHo wasn’t sure what to think of. His heart sped up a bit. He wondered what JaeJoong was thinking and what exactly would possess him to act this way.
“JaeJoong…” YunHo began to protest, but JaeJoong’s hand rose, covering his mouth.
“YunHo, stop talking and fulfill your promise.” JaeJoong turned around again, his body pressing firmly against YunHo as a surge in the crowd moved them closer. “I can feel you forever now, you know.”
~*~
YooChun leaned on the balcony, staring out into the broad skyline that Seoul provided for them. This city was beautiful to the baritone. America had been a beautiful place, but the memories were ridden with negativity. Seoul was everything the name embodied for the singer; his soul, but if only that he knew his soul lived here with him.
JunSu had unnerved him earlier with the dream talk. YooChun knew that it was true and he embraced it, but he wasn’t sure his arms were open so wide to enjoy the fact that JunSu might be giving into it. What would that mean? Sure, there was a definite fate in them, they were meant to be in this apartment with these people, with these memories and these experiences. But YooChun worried that because of the fate, the true meaning to their reality would fade into the background. He wanted to tell JunSu everything, he wanted to give detailed accounts of his own dreams and the things he and YunHo had discussed in the wee hours of the night, whispering over the kitchen table. Because YunHo had the same experiences, YooChun had no problem sharing with him.
It was different with JunSu. The singer was something that YooChun wanted to protect. JunSu was indeed his heart, but in this life, he was more than that. JunSu was YooChun’s soul, his mind, his heart, his everything and that was slightly frustrating for the emotional baritone. JunSu’s rather innocent curiosity earlier had been endearing. YooChun knew that eventually it would all come out, but he hoped that JunSu’s dreams would continue before it became his responsibility.
Or maybe, the dreams would stop, and YooChun could continue wooing his friend without the help of the myths and the weird stories.
“Chun ah?” JunSu’s voice cut the relative silence of the night like a butter knife and YooChun turned around to see the other man. He was dressed in his night clothes; a pair of white sweats that had a little dragon on the hip and a tank top. JunSu was built very attractively, his muscles would seem overwhelming on any other person, but on JunSu than added to his curvy form. Everything about JunSu was perfect in YooChun eyes and he wished he could scream it to the sky in that instant.
“Yeah, Su?” YooChun worried his voice shook, and he wished it had as JunSu stepped closer.
“Are you angry with me for bringing that up?” JunSu didn’t have to elaborate on what ‘that’ was.
“I’m not,” YooChun murmured, turning back to the balcony. JunSu stood next to time, their arms touching affectionately.
“Then why did you walk away?” YooChun was sure JunSu could unravel any resolve he ever had.
“I don’t know, JunSu, it makes me nervous, I guess.” The baritone looked down at the streets, pretending that he knew what the people below were thinking. In my dreams, I could.
“Why nervous?” JunSu pressed.
YooChun looked up at his friend, studying his face as the innocent man stared across the street at the tall building in front of them. “I can’t explain it, but I think you’ll know soon enough.”
They were silent for a long moment, JunSu staring off into the reflective glass of the other building and YooChun staring into the reflective water depths of JunSu’s eyes. The silence felt comfortable despite the weird air floating around them. There was a wind coming through the buildings and after it passed them, it whistled around the corner and YooChun imagined the people on the other side of the building had to hold onto their hats. He’d experienced the rush of wind before.
“I can see us in the building.” JunSu said softly, raising a hand to point across. “Except, to me, you look less handsome all distorted like that.”
YooChun’s mouth hung open as he followed the other’s fingers, his eyes widened a bit at the other’s pointed words. He caught site of the distant glimmering square that was the light from their apartment and penetrating the box were two dark shadows, framed by the balcony.
“That’s because we’re just shadows, Su ah.” YooChun said softly, staring at it.
JunSu grinned a little bit and stood up, waving his hand rather frantically, to make his own shadow move weirdly in the glass. “Hopefully, we won’t always be shadows when we’re together, you know?”
JunSu looked at YooChun then, his lips pursed in a smile as he said that. “Goodnight, YooChun, we have to wake up early.”
~*~
JaeJoong managed to finally convince YunHo to dance with him and the entire night had been rather relaxing from then on out. They tumbled from the club in the early morning, laughing about some stupid joke YunHo had made about the coat hanger by the door. A taxi had been hailed and instead of riding far away from one another, they sat close in one side of the cab.
“Thank you YunHo,” JaeJoong said softly as he settled against the strong support of YunHo’s shoulders.
“Of course,” YunHo said softly, leaning his head back against the arch of the window. “We can do that more often, if you’d like.”
“I would like that.”
The cabby drove with the black window up, offering them the privacy that anyone deserved at that time in the morning. Seoul hadn’t quieted down yet and JaeJoong momentarily lamented not spending more time milking the city’s jeweled streets. But with the strong warmth of YunHo’s body behind him, he felt like maybe it was better this way.
Their looming apartment complex approached them quicker than really expected and soon, the two celebrities were slipping from the taxi, up some stairs and then back through the familiar foyer. Their doorman waved at them and wished them a goodnights sleep. The elevator was spent in closer company too and even as they walked to their apartment door, YunHo held a hand at the base of JaeJoong’s spine.
By the time they were inside, JaeJoong had YunHo against the closed door. The kiss he placed on the leader’s lips was long since coming, the need burned in JaeJoong’s throat even as he pressed his hands to the other man’s collar bone. He didn’t expect YunHo to return in, in fact, he expected retaliation. But, after a second, YunHo’s lips pressed back against his.
The kiss was powerful for whatever reason. JaeJoong wasn’t totally sure why, but he felt suddenly safe. YunHo’s hands came to his sides and they stood close like that, against the door with their jacket’s hanging off their shoulders.
After a moment, JaeJoong pulled YunHo back, breaking the kiss only so that he could speak. “Take off your shoes, it’s rude.”
YunHo huffed and closed the distance between them, kicking off his shoes before he allowed himself to be pulled forward by JaeJoong. The only light on in the apartment was the overhead light in the kitchen. There were no sounds, no signs that anyone was awake. The hallway to their bedrooms was dark, and JaeJoong seemed keen to take advantage of that, as he pulled YunHo into him, so they could kiss in the narrow passageway.
Neither bothered to flick on a light once they entered their bedroom, instead they broke the kiss to stumble around, changing their clothes from night life to bed time. It seemed to take two seconds for them rejoin over YunHo’s bed, this time though, the kiss was a bit softer and JaeJoong pushed away after only a second of it.
“Can I lay with you tonight?”