The Art of Deception (Yunho x Jaejoong) - Chapter Five
**Note: Thank you, dadamidi, for the wonderful banner you made for me!**
The Art of Deception (Chapter Five)
Pairing: Yunho (DBSK) x Jaejoong (DBSK).
Category: K-Pop.
Length: Multi-chaptered.
Genres: Angst, drama, humor, romance.
Rating: PG-13.
Warning: Homosexuality, light swearing, sexual implications, violence.
Summary: Yunho is a rich son who’s never done anything to earn his own money. Attending snobby diners and appearing in social events with his parents is more than he can take, so he decides to run away, thinking that surely life is better elsewhere - anywhere but his place. Little does he know that it doesn’t get any better in the slums. His thirst for adventure will be quenched - a little too much. Enter street Kabuki actor Kim Jaejoong!
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
The play was not easy to write... It's not my own creation, though, I merely watched a very famous one (Sagi Musume) and wrote what I saw. I know this doesn't compare to the real thing, but I still hope you'll enjoy it. :) If you want to have an idea what the play looks like, look for it on Youtube, it's available with an English narrator and one of the most acclaimed Kabuki
actors ever (Tamasaburo Bando) is the one to perform. It's a masterpiece.
***
[Yunho’s POV]
The theatre is nothing compared to what I’m used to. It is located in the basement of what seems to be an abandoned opera house - or at the very least, one that has seen better days. It is easy to recognize it from the architecture and general setup of the venue, but from what I’m been told, it’s been revamped (though the word is hardly representative) to receive actors and their décor.
If this district might have been the scene of fancy events and home to wealthy, successful families, only a faint ghost of such a past remains… Still, one can imagine how grand it must have been.
The place is completely crammed already, which says a lot about the troupe’s popularity in these parts. Luckily for me, I get a VIP seat next to Changmin, right by the hanamichi - flower path - which is host to the most dramatic scenes of Kabuki plays. My knowledge comes from the fact that I was invited to many prestigious performances in the past, given my family’s status, so this is not the first time for me. Because of that, my expectations are quite high, but I’m under the impression that Jaejoong will not disappoint.
I’m looking forward to seeing if he lives up to his reputation.
Strangely excited, I look around curiously and take in the sight of the spectators. Men and women are present altogether to see Jaejoong perform (I remember Changmin saying something about that), but I have to admit it, they look rather roguish and not exactly trustworthy. It’s a wonder they would even pay to be here today. The show must really be something to be worth paying for.
Granted, you can’t judge a book by its cover, but it usually says something about the content, right?
Subtly, I place my hand over my trousers’ pocket where my wallet is hidden.
Careful. I must not attract attention to myself.
“Forget about melding in.” Changmin whispers in my ear, making me jump at the sudden sound. “You stand out enough as it is. The best thing you can do is to stop acting so nervously. You’ll be an easier target for them if you let them intimidate you. Take it easy and enjoy the play.”
That’s easy for him to say… Then again, that’s what we came here for, so I should do as he says and focus on the stage, where the story is beginning, and that is what I do.
I recognize the setting to be that of Sagi Musume, my favourite play.
The first sounds of the choir are heard and a silhouette slowly comes up through the floor of the stage on a mobile platform. The figure is draped in a pure white kimono held tight to its narrow waist by a large, ominous-looking black obi, creating a confusing contrast of colors. Unmoving and showing its back to the crowd, it holds up an umbrella over its head, as if to protect itself from the elements.
There is no need for me to see its face. I already know that it’s Jaejoong.
Already entranced, I take in a deep breath, thinking that I might not take another until the end of the performance, as dangerous as that sounds. I don’t want to miss the slightest detail.
Finally, the platform rotates until it has traced a half-circle, now showing us the front of the cloaked person whose face is concealed by a hood. Small flakes of snow lightly fall around as the almost ethereal creature opens her arms at a calculated speed, giving the spectators a better view of the sinister sash surrounding its slender silhouette. The voices of the backing singers fill the room, enveloping us comfortingly as the celestial being sways miserably alone while gripping the umbrella with two hands.
The delicate shield seems to be the only thing that is keeping it in this world.
The hood goes up a little as the creature lifts its face, revealing the immaculate skin of the heron maiden.
The spirit leans backward with infinite grace before starting to move again, moving her hands and feet ever so slightly like the movements of a bird. It walks hesitantly, lifting a tentative foot before setting it down again. The lyrics of the current song tell of her dark musings… When the snow stops falling, she carefully lowers her umbrella, lifting her free arm as she notices the change in weather. But although the sky seems to have cleared for now, her mind harbours the blackest thoughts one can have.
After setting down her umbrella in a pile of snow, the bird hides herself between her vast wings (which are actually the long sleeves of the costume), shielding herself from a sudden flurry. Cold, she crouches to the ground and hugs herself for a little bit of warmth, but rises not long after to shake off the snow that covers her shivering wings, a gesture that is accentuated by the strikes of the drums. She shows her back to the audience again, wings widely opened, before squatting down again as the song continues.
When one of the singers reaches a particularly high note representative of her despair, a stage assistant, kouken, breezes up to her side and behind her to remove her hood, revealing a beautiful white face and a black bun decorated with many colourful ornaments.
Though tradition has faded a little, allowing women to take part in Kabuki dances, women roles are still given to men to this day, like in this case, and what a brilliant decision it was.
Jaejoong has to be the most beautiful onna gata that I was ever given the chance to see.
The heron spirit kneels down for a moment, before rising up again, moving and turning quite like one would expect of the animal, graceful and silent. But the creature’s beauty hides hatred like no other. Jaejoong’s face displays despair mixed with burning anger and he clutches his sleeves tightly, effectively showing the heron’s state of heart, mind and soul. I can easily feel her grief…
I avert my eyes accidently as the choir sings of her fate and I spot Junsu among them.
Once a sweet maiden, the girl was turned into a creature upon dying, a punishment that resulted of the sins she had committed, as well as her refusal to pass on to the next life, her refusal to leave the world of the living. Quickly, I look back to the figure of the woman, almost wishing that I did not already know how this story is going to end.
Agitated, she whirls around with small, rapid steps, fluttering her feathers in her turmoil.
The stage assistants are back behind Jaejoong and they pull on the threads holding his costume together, after which he shoulders off the white kimono under the clamours and applause of the spectators, revealing a bright white-lined, crimson one. The obi, still of a pitch black color, now presents a gold and silver snowflakes pattern. The maiden begins to dance quickly, producing complicated and precise hand movements as her sleeves swish around accordingly, leaving trails of red in their wake.
As the lyrics of the song announce an imaginary man whom the maiden is quite fond of, the latter joins her hands and lifts them to the sky, before falling back on her knees ever so gently. In the presence of the man she loves, the girl shows signs of bashfulness and hesitation, shifting her head from side to side as if to avoid his gaze and moving her hands around in graceful waves and circle motions.
As she bows to show her respect, she - Jaejoong - has never looked more breathtaking.
Happiness fills her being as God bounds her to her lover in the union of marriage, but embarrassment clouds her heart as the strength of her feelings grows. Holding up a white sash with its two ends, a symbol of the matrimony, she turns and twirls while her shy eyes avoid visual contact with anyone present.
She leaves in a hurry to hide behind the curtains, returning shortly after in a purple kimono.
Upon her return, the choir sings on about the difficulty of love and its fleetingness. To express this, the maiden goes on turning and flipping her wide sleeves with much skill and grace. When she gets back to her feet, she brings the sleeves together and sidles from one side to the other, producing wide movements and letting her hands dance through the air with ease, despite the hindering cascades of silk.
Wrapping her arms around her upper body, she tilts her head to the side while showing an impenetrable expression to the crowd who watches her, breathless and silent. I, too, cannot take my eyes away from her cold eyes and I can’t help but wonder if Jaejoong is even aware of what is going on around him as he dances, bewitching everyone without exception. It looks as though he has no notions of space and time, as if he truly finds himself in that ancient era rather than in our modern times, six feet under.
If something draws the line between a good actor and a fraud, this must be it.
He pauses for a few seconds’ time, something that I did not remember from other performances, and although it might just be improvised, I get the impression that he’s looking at me - directly at me - with eyes a little wider than they should be, surprised rather than bitter. Could it be that he has spotted me? Surely he couldn’t have expected to find me here of all places… Not long after, the maiden starts moving again, leaving me no chance to ponder over the matter any longer without missing pieces of the story.
I have to ask myself if I did not just dream that last part, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t.
She goes on walking wearily, her eyes looking ahead in longing, but her heart is starting to fill with something other than love… Back to the crowd, she arches her spine at such an angle that she seems to defy gravity, before heading in the opposite direction, joining her hands on her heart and lowering her coal eyes to the ground as she retrieves her umbrella from its nest where she left it earlier.
Experimentally, she opens it once again and begins to twirl around with it, after which she sets it down and disappears behind it, shielding herself with her sleeve above her head. Another stage assistant does his magic, concealed behind her crouched being...
Barely a second later, she rises again with her umbrella, clad in a pink kimono.
Captivated, the spectators burst into an explosion of cheers. As for me, I must be turning purple by now, as I have only breathed so much since the play started, and my eyes are starting to hurt quite a lot as I have refrained from blinking for a long time. This whole thing is completely unhealthy… This… This weird attraction that is turning into an obsession, way too rapidly for my liking…
But I can’t help myself… I just can’t look away…
The flutes sing lightly as the maiden dances in her spring attire, shading herself from the sun with her delicate parasol. She deftly spins the umbrella, creating a mystifying carousel of black and white, as her feet move so fast she appears to be gliding across the stage. On and on she handles the object with the grace of a swan, the chants of the choir and the sounds of the shamisen accompanying her.
The maiden is now sight-seeing in the pure wilderness and I can almost see her point her finger up as she revels over the beauty of the cherry blossoms in the trees around her.
In that unique moment, she truly looks blissful and at peace…
But of course, her happiness cannot last.
The reality of time carries her to the moment of her demise, at the end of her imaginary romance.
She continues on spinning her umbrella, taking tiny backward steps as she does so, throwing it up lightly before catching it with ease and twirling it around again, only to raise it high again and stand straight and proud as the audience expresses its wonder and delight. She pulls her free hand out of its hiding place and motions at the people watching her, as though she were calling them forth… But when the clouds suddenly hide the sun from her view and the snowflakes begin to fall again, she hides under her umbrella preparing once more for not one, but two other costume changes.
First, she springs up in a blood red attire, a color heavy in meaning: it expresses her bitterness towards the love that has betrayed her forever. Head bowed, eyes obstinately kept closed, she stands up dramatically as everyone holds their breath, her hands searching blindly, reaching forward for something that only she can see, and then she plunges once more behind the shade, only to get up in her initial clothing.
The white kimono - or rather, her agonizing, heron spirit form.
Her dreams are over. Her memories are no more. She faces reality as it hits her.
The elegant bun that kept her long hair up has come undone, leaving it loose and dancing on her frail shoulders. Lost in her way, she staggers on weak legs, falling to her knees and curving her spine backwards until her head almost touches the ground, eyes closed and arms stretched out above.
From then on, the creature’s movements become hectic and disordered. It takes a few attempts for it to succeed in getting up, after collapsing many times in its lack of physical and mental strength. Anguish is the only thing animating her almost lifeless body now, and she seems to want to head in different directions at the same time, which results in her not getting anywhere fast.
Wounded animal that she is, she walks on unsteadily, arms stretched out in front of her, unable to see anymore in the indescribable suffering she is going through. Due to its sudden heaviness, her pretty head just keeps on lolling as she is unable to hold it straight. On her left shoulder, a red gash testifies of the pain gnawing at her, and she stumbles in the cold like a puppet as the snow accumulates…
The king of hell himself is said to be passing judgement on her for the sin that she committed.
Much to her dismay, she is taken through the chamber of striking and crushing, the chamber of revival and the chamber of great wailing, where she is tortured to the boundaries of insanity. Despite her fighting back, there is nothing she can do but let her punishers - devils of the underworld - do whatever they will with her. No matter how much she plugs her ears and looks away, there is no way out for her.
Shrivelled on the ground, reduced to a mere shadow, the heron faintly agitates its wings in hopes of flying away from this nightmare. Desperation is all it knows as it understands that the end is getting closer… Once, twice, thrice; the bird manages to take off momentarily, but collapses back just as hard, lifting up a little lower with every tries before crumbling to the ground for the last time.
For a moment, it seems to pray to the heavens, asking for forgiveness and pity in the afterlife.
Will she be pardoned for allowing herself to fall for a man that she could not have?
Ever so slightly, as the shamisen drags on at a dropper pace, the heron falls back, holding up its wings towards the skies helplessly. Slowly, acceptance can be read on its face as its fate can easily be guessed, and drowsiness numbs its body. Seeking a little warmth, the heron hides itself under its wings…
But the cruelness of winter is no longer an issue… because the heron is no more.
Dead silence fills the venue as the curtain falls before Jaejoong’s huddled up body, a sight that announces the end of the play and the audience’s cue to express its admiration.
Now that the main actor has finished giving his all and so much more, they no longer have to keep quiet, so they cheer and clap and call out his name. Without hesitation, they give him a standing ovation that would make anyone craving a little attention jealous. But although I would like to convey too how much I enjoyed the show, I find myself unable to move, as if suddenly paralyzed.
Changmin’s sincere expression comes into sight.
“Hyung, are you okay…?” He asks me out of honest concern. “You’re crying…”
Gathering all the strength I can muster right now, I raise a shaking hand to my cheek and sure enough, my face seems to be inundated with tears that are still pouring down my eyes without signs of stopping anytime soon. Still, a little embarrassed, I wipe them as best as I can with the back of my hand, closing my eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath to calm my pounding heart. I feel so exhausted…
Like I just ran a marathon. Or fell deeper in love.
Whichever it is.
Because I’ve probably been resting longer than I should have, I feel a gentle grip on my arm and I raise my head from the hand that it had fallen into in order to look at Changmin, currently hunched over me. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell a soul.” He says with a sad smile, stretching out his hand for me to take. Grateful, I grab it weakly, letting him help me to my feet. Momentarily dizzy, I wait a few seconds for the black dots to stop dancing in front of my eyes and for the blood to return to my legs.
Since when does Kabuki put me in such a condition? I don’t remember the last time I cried so hard.
“Besides, you’re not the only one.”
Changmin’s voice says a lot about the state that he’s in. Could he have been crying as well? There is no way for me to know, since my vision is still blurry, but I can tell that he was greatly affected by the performance. That’s how big of an impression Jaejoong leaves on people. Changmin should have been used to seeing him, but if Jaejoong still moves him so, then the guy is quite the phenomenon.
“Let’s go congratulate him backstage.” My tall junior (I figured he must be younger than me) proposes before heading in that direction, without waiting for my answer.
Still sniffling miserably, I follow after him, trying to calm down before I see Jaejoong again.
Once we’re on the other side of the curtain, we find Jaejoong in the same spot we saw him last, curled up in a ball with Yoochun and Junsu at his side. Before I know what I’m doing, I’m crouching in front of him to see how he’s doing. “Is he alright?” I ask of his friends as I check on him, only to find that his eyes are open (a hopeful sign), but that he’s staring off into space weakly (not so good).
Upon seeing Changmin and I arrive, Yoochun hurries to reassure me. “He’ll be fine. He always gets worked up during his performances.” As he caresses his friend’s hair soothingly, he doesn’t appear to be the least bit afraid, so I decide to trust his word and lower my head to watch Jaejoong’s face.
Half-lidded eyes appear to be looking through me without really seeing.
Is this the price to pay for taking one’s job so seriously?
“It may look pretty bad, but he’s not in any kind of pain, right now. At least not physically…” Yoochun reaches for Jaejoong’s limp hand on the floor and squeezes it. “It’s just that he really gets into his characters’ skin when he acts, especially this one… Sagi Musume is his favourite play.”
My heart throbs once more at these words. “It was… breathtaking. You were incredible.”
Yoochun chuckles pleasantly at the compliment. “You gotta hand that to Jaejoong and Su. I was just an assistant this time, since the line-up for this one is a little limited.”
As for him, Junsu accepts the kind words shyly, blushing a little and looking quite satisfied with the result of his own participation. “We’re alright, but Jaejoong is the one that makes all the difference. Did you see the crowd? They all came for him. And I can’t blame them, really…” Fondly, he rubs Jaejoong’s shoulder to comfort him, and I can see how great of an opinion they all have of him.
That realization makes me regret my earlier actions and thoughts. I might have been a little too quick to judge him and now that I realize just how wrong I was, I suddenly feel that I owe him an apology.
Later, when he’s ready to receive it, I’ll thank him for today.
Almost unconsciously, yet not quite, I reach for his free hand and ghost my fingers over the soft skin, but Jaejoong chooses that moment to stir, partially coming out of his daze. “What’s… huh? …Yunho…?” Coal eyes are still covered with a film of confusion and emotional weariness, a sight that scares me more than I would like to admit. Even though I don’t know him much yet, I’m used to seeing those eyes sharp and alert. Strong and afraid of nothing. Not so vulnerable.
Not like this.
Feeling a little guilty that I was caught, I snatch my hand back, unable to take my eyes away. With much effort, Jaejoong tries to push himself up to a sitting position, but he falls back flat against the floor. “…You have to get some rest, hyung.” Changmin feels wise to suggest, and I couldn’t agree more. Not even waiting to get the others’ input, I lift him up and haul him onto my back effortlessly. He’s so light… “Let’s carry him some place where he can recover. Is there such a thing here?”
My question is met with three pairs of round eyes who peer at me curiously. Suddenly aware of a small blush starting to spread on my face, I tighten my hold on Jaejoong’s thin legs on each side of my waist.
So it might look a little bit unusual that a stranger would give their friend a piggyback ride.
“You guys fed me and brought me here. This is the least I can do.”
They all nod in agreement, admitting that I do have a point. Junsu glances at Yoochun, as if he were asking for some kind of permission, which the other seems to grant him. “Actually, we live here. We’ll show you to our modest home.” Junsu offers before heading out to lead the way, the others on his heels.
Apprehensive, I follow shortly after, wanting nothing more than to see Jaejoong standing again.
Right now, I don’t want to think about the reason why. That can wait, right?
“…what are you doing… pervert… let me down…”
For some reason, I just can’t bring myself to be mad at him this time. Playing tough to the end, huh. “…Get some sleep. You can worry about your pride when you’re feeling better.”
When I’ll have figured out those feelings and made some sense out of them.
Chapter Six