AU Oneshot --- GDxTOP ---- One Heart --- NC17 --- Part 1
Title: One Heart 1/2
Pairing: GDxTop (Big Bang)
Genre: AU, a bit of everything.
Rating: R for this part.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, but I wish I did.
Summary: Top is a rich business man with everything. GD is a poor country boy who needs a heart.
Notes: Prompted and betad by midorihaven ♥. It's only split in two because it was too long to post in one entry.
One Heart
Seunghyun fixes his shirt cuffs, glancing at his watch for the umpteenth time; it wasn’t like her to be late. His fingers tap against the mahogany table, his legs crossed and restless underneath it. The waiter stops in front of him, asking to remove the extra chair. Seunghyun was polite at first, but now he’s speaking through clenched teeth, “No you cannot. Stop asking.” The startled man shuffles off into the kitchen.
Seunghyun sighs loudly, couples looking over from their tables and then away when he narrows his eyes at them. He looks at his watch once more, denying the fact that his girlfriend was almost 30 minutes late. Undoing his tie and opening a few of his top buttons, he stretches out under the table. If she was going to be this late, he would need to cool down before her arrival.
Seunghyun huffs, crossing his arms and staring at the clock of his cellphone placed beside silverware. The waiter returns, bottle of wine in one hand, towel in the other. “Can I offer you a glass while you wait, sir?” Seunghyun nods, gesturing for him to go ahead, not taking his eyes away from his cellphone. The waiter forces a smile, pouring the red liquid into the glass, putting it down on the table gently. Seunghyun takes the glass between his middle fingers, parting his lips slightly to sip it, as his phone vibrates against the table. He picks up frantically, spilling his glass of wine on the table.
“Where are you!?” Seunghyun shouts, disturbing the other couples’ evening.
“Sir, your girlfriend has been in an accident ---“
Seunghyun slides his phone into his jacket, bolting up from his seat and rushing out the front door.
--------------------------------------------------
Jiyong kisses his mother on both cheeks, pulling her into a warm hug. She smiles, sighing and fixing his shirt collar. He chuckles a bit, whispering for her to tell dad about why he’s gone. She nods, pushing him out the door a bit rougher than she means to. If she didn’t do it this way she’d never let him go.
He smiles, shielding his eyes from the sun. “Don’t worry, I’ll find a good job and help you pay for the house!” Jiyong waves, running to catch his bus into the city.
It’ll be hard to leave his hometown, but he knows it’s for the best. The medical coverage and services were much better in Seoul. His heart wasn’t going to last much longer without it.
His mother closes the door when she sees him get on the bus, leaning her back against the frame. There’s a picture of Jiyong hanging on the wall, she runs her fingers over it pensively. He hasn’t changed much in the past years. His hair is still long and brown, he still wears multicolored bandannas, still has his huge smile and the same brooding eyes that contradict his smile. She knows that Jiyong needs that transplant soon; the doctors predicted that he would have heart failure within the next year.
--------------------------------------
Seunghyun pants when he reaches the reception of the hospital. He asks for his girlfriend’s room number and the secretary shies away, avoiding his gaze. “Where is she?” Seunghyun says louder.
“Go down the hall to your left, intensive care.” The woman points, still incapable of looking him directly in the eyes, as she finishes giving him directions.
Seunghyun rushes down the hall, brushing past a slender man with brown hair on the way, knocking his papers out of his hands accidentally. Jiyong grumbles, watching the man continue to run through the corridor without even trying to apologize.
Seunghyun stops in his tracks when he finds her room, his hand shaking as it covers his mouth. He walks over to-what he believes-is his girlfriend, or what’s left of her. He looks at the hospital bracelet on her wrist, noticing the name and dropping to his knees. This broken person is her-the only woman he’s ever loved.
He fights back his tears, his breath coming out in gasps, kissing her hand softly. A doctor with a clipboard comes in, fixing his frames, not to startle the young man, before he interrupts by clearing his throat. “I’m sorry to bother you at such a time.”
Seunghyun puts her hand back on her stomach, getting off the ground and wiping his eyes quickly. “How is she?”
“I’m sorry,” The doctor sighs, his shoulders drooping. “There’s nothing we can do. There’s too much blood in her lungs.”
Seunghyun cringes, his muscles tensing up throughout his body. He knew it was serious, but he never thought he’d be saying goodbye to this woman-who looked nothing like his girlfriend---while she was on life support.
His head starts spinning and he feels like he might throw up or fall down again. The doctor’s still talking, but Seunghyun can’t hear anything except a buzzing noise and her voice ringing in his ears. At some point, the doctor’s hand is on his shoulder, trying to console him. But now he can’t see the doctor in front of him either. And at that moment, Seunghyun feels his whole body shut down and the lights in the room fade to black.
--------------------------------------------
Jiyong sighs, fixing his dark hoodie and tapping his pack of papers against the corner of the receptionist’s desk. “Miss, I was told to give these to you. It’s my application for a heart transplant.”
She nods, taking the forms and stapling them as the other hand reaches to answer the incessant phone. She moves the receiver away from her mouth, “Please sit down, you’ll have some tests to go through.”
Jiyong blinks, falling onto the plastic waiting room chair. He sighs, fixing his thin bandanna and crossing his legs. He waits, watches, thinks. The receptionist’s shift is over, and yet, he’s still waiting. Ambulances pass through quickly, sometimes with minor injuries, sometimes with crying families. Doctors call out names of patients. Jiyong sits up when he sees them, slumping back down when they call for someone else. He eventually falls asleep, his eyes too heavy to stay open.
There’s a voice whispering, telling him to wake up, but the fish in his pond still haven’t been caught. Can’t he just stay in dreamland a little longer? The hand shakes his shoulder gently, his eyes cracking open and glaring at the sunlight slipping in through the open blinds
“Kwon Jiyong? The doctor will see you now.” It’s the same receptionist from a few hours ago.
He sits up, pulling on his hood to hide from the dreaded sunlight. It was too early for him to be awake and have to deal with that. Jiyong looks for the number of the room, forcing his eyes to focus when he can’t even remember what he was waiting for to begin with. Oh yeah, he sighs, a heart and then he’s wide awake.
The room is empty when he gets in, save for a bed and some basic medical equipment. A door he hadn’t even noticed opens, and an exhausted doctor appears with a clipboard in hand. “How are you today?”
“Fine, I guess.” Jiyong yawns, swinging his feet off the hospital bed.
“Well, I have good news and bad news.” But the doctor’s smile seems a bit misleading.
“Bad news? Whatever.” Jiyong creases his brow. Did this mean he was going to die?
The doctor’s smile grows. “Actually I’ll tell you it all together.” The doctor double checks his clipboard, leaning it against his chest when he’s done. “We have a heart for you, but you need to go into surgery now. We won’t have time to do all the tests.”
Jiyong doesn’t know if he should laugh, cry, or scream. He resorts to jumping on the doctor and hanging from his neck, his eyes filling with tears. The doctor seems touched, patting Jiyong on the back. “Let’s get you changed.”
----------------------------------------
All he can think about is her. She was the cautious one, the grounded one, the one who always wanted things to be fair. Seunghyun curses under his breath, slamming down a bottle of beer. This wasn’t fair, not to him, and least of all to her.
Warm tears slide down his cheeks but he doesn’t even bother wiping them anymore. Soju is starting to taste like water (or piss), he notes, guzzling down the rest of the bottle and breaking it against his table. The last sip is saltier, maybe because of the tears he refuses to acknowledge, but he continues to drink blindly.
He cracks open another bottle, slouching in his leather sofa that she picked out, trying to remember the details of her face, her voice, her habits---everything. If he forgets, he’s lost her completely and that would mean the end.
If life was going to treat the good people like that, then he was going to do it as well. Being nice never landed him a job, never let him get ahead, never made girls like him. And life definitely didn’t care about morals and caution---death even less. If there’s one thing he learned it was: no matter how good and pure you are, someone stupid and careless can come along, stealing your hopes and dreams in a few seconds.
What was the point?
---------------------------------------------
Jiyong is aching. Everything feels numb and pulling, and as much as he’d like to turn over, the bed is too small. He sighs, his eyes still closed, frowning with the tight feeling in his chest. This is him on strong painkillers, he couldn’t imagine without. He gets comfortable and decides to go back to sleep----there’s not much else he can do.
He thinks he’s dreaming, but he’s not completely sure. He figures, since his body doesn’t hurt and he’s able to walk around, it can’t be real. But the man in front of him looks so real, and only slightly familiar.
His hair is dark and shining below the miniature chandelier in the apartment. Jiyong doesn’t recognize the place more than the man, but it feels cozy. The stranger, clearly a businessman by his designer suit and watch, leans in and kisses Jiyong. It’s soft and thorough, almost uncharacteristically so, even though Jiyong doesn’t know him.
The man smiles, his eyes as dark as ebony and intense, sliding his fingers through long hair. He leans in, pressing his forehead to Jiyong’s and whispering: “Why would you give your heart away? It belongs to me.” There’s laughter, and it doesn’t sound like Jiyong’s voice. But it feels like he’s been there before, like he can almost remember if he just pays closer attention.
“Good morning!” A nurse puts a plate down on Jiyong’s tray, sliding it over his bed.
Jiyong’s eyes snap open as he sits up in his bed abruptly. Too fast, he groans. It hurts, worse than before, the feeling of his limbs being pulled apart back again. Maybe it would have been better to just die--he thinks for a second--but decides to throw away that thought.
-------------------------------------------------
Seunghyun cracks his knuckles looking at the letter from his newest intern. It’s amusing how they can’t seem to last his boot camp. His own boss is much harder on him, but you don’t see him complaining and leaving hate letters. Seunghyun smirks, cynical thoughts swirling through his mind as he reads it aloud.
Dear Choi Seunghyun,
Go fuck yourself! No one deserves to be treated like this!
I’m not some lab rat you can push to the limit just for your own entertainment.
I shouldn’t have to sleep in the office because you don’t like working alone and not get paid for the overtime! I hope you die a horrible death!
He has already died. This Seunghyun is a different one. Reborn with horns and thick skin, flames surround him and he keeps nothing but victory in his mind to drive him. Love and compassion are a thing of the past, he mumbles, dialing the number of his secretary.
“Get me another intern, now!” Seunghyun hangs up, taking a cigar from his drawer and lighting it.
----------------------------------------------
Jiyong wakes--able to sit up in his bed-and eats the horrid hospital food. He’s not sure what it is, but the colors are nice so he forces the substance down his throat. If he doesn’t eat, the nurse will spoon-feed him; she already threatened to a few days ago.
His stomach is full. Full of what, he’d rather not know, but full nonetheless. His eyelids feel heavy as he lies back against his pillow. At the rate he’s drifting into slumber, he’s skeptical as to what the nurse slipped in the lunch. (Or, possibly, this is what it felt like to have a full stomach?)
The man is back, he notices right away, their fingers intertwining. A voice, the same voice that answers the man constantly, whispers the stranger’s name lovingly: Seunghyun. The name suits him, he thinks, elegant and serious. They continue walking down the beach hand in hand, smiles almost too big to be real. Jiyong watches like Seunghyun is distant and close at once, like he can almost touch his heart if he reaches for it.
Jiyong isn’t someone who likes labels, nor does he label people, but he never thought he’d be falling for a man in his dreams. It isn’t only the fact that Seunghyun is a man, because he’s seen how wonderful and gorgeous he can be, but rather that he lives only in his dreams. And dreams are often misleading, especially with matters of the heart.
His stomach growls and Jiyong is forced out of sleep--again--his abdomen rumbling like a storm. There’s a fresh tray of colorful mash in front of him, no thanks to the nurse. It’s already night time; he realizes when the usual ray of sunshine isn’t driving him insane. He smiles, fork swirling in the mystery food. Though he knows it’s wrong on so many levels, he can’t wait to fall back asleep and see Seunghyun. He scrambles to eat whatever’s on his plate, forcing it down with some water and curling up against his pillow.
-----------------------------------------
Seunghyun rolls his eyes. It’s obvious the new guy doesn’t take him seriously when he says he knows his coffee. The guy was probably late so he rushed into whichever coffee shop was nearby and kept a spare cup from the real place, pouring this cheap shit in it and passing it off as the good stuff.
“Intern,” For this, Seunghyun decides, he won’t have a name today. “Get me the coffee I like.”
The man stands in front of him for a long moment, confused and insulted, not sure which emotion is leading. Seunghyun looks up at him, widening his eyes to press the matter, finger tapping against his watch.
The man takes the coffee from Seunghyun’s desk, rushing out the door and closing it behind him softly. He’s aware that his coworkers were betting on how long this intern would last. But they didn’t know that he was in on it, as well. The record for the last 20 people who came in and out is two weeks. And she was the only woman.
Seunghyun chuckles at the thought. Too bad it took a woman to have some balls.
------------------------------------------
Jiyong doesn’t even know how to swim, but he can when he’s with Seunghyun. They have a beautiful outdoor pool and Seunghyun is at ease as he swims around in it. Jiyong watches from the side, his feet swinging in the water.
Seunghyun dives under water, popping out in front of Jiyong, looking more gorgeous than usual. His hair is slicked back and dripping onto the golden skin of his chest and arms. He flexes his muscles playfully, his smile brighter than the sun beaming above.
This is heaven to Jiyong. And he wouldn’t care if he stayed in this fantasy world forever, as long as Seunghyun would be there with him. Jiyong doesn’t need to wake up, doesn’t want to---so long as Seunghyun stays by his side.
But his chest tenses when he coughs, and suddenly there’s a light shining in his eyes. A doctor is yelling above him, but all he can hear is Seunghyun’s laugh and all he needs is to get closer, to actually touch him. He realizes it’s time to wake up when the voice shouting over Seunghyun’s is frantic and shaking him more violently.
A doctor finally pulls him out of his dream. “Jiyong, I need you awake.”
Jiyong pushes himself up with his elbows, blinking away the sleep. “Yes, I’m up. What’s wrong?”
“If you’re getting a cold, it might be your body rejecting the heart.” The doctor places his stethoscope to Jiyong’s chest.
He hisses, the cold metal too much of a contrast for his warm skin. The doctor listens, asking Jiyong to breathe in and out heavily. He takes a pen and scribbles something on a pad. Jiyong tries to read it, expecting the worst. His life always seems to hit rock bottom when he thinks he’s finally climbing out of the dark & empty crevasse.
“I think it’s from the draft. The window next to your bed doesn’t close all the way.” The doctor puts the stethoscope around his neck. “I think you should try to sleep only 3 hours at a time. I’ll bring you an alarm if you need one.”
Jiyong nods, wondering where the bad news went---there wasn’t any. All he needs to do is see Seunghyun a bit less often and he’ll survive. That’s basically what it came down to, in his mind at least. What went on in the doctor’s mind, he’d rather not know. Jiyong sighs happily, lying back against the pillow he’s more than used to.
“Oh, and I think you’ll need to start looking for somewhere else to stay. You’re pretty much healed.” The doctor smiles, clicking the top of his pen and sliding it into his pocket.
Jiyong doesn’t know how long he’s been in the hospital, but he’s certain that his family think he’s dead. He was so preoccupied with Seunghyun and those dreams, he’d forgotten to contact his parents. They’re probably worried sick.
He takes out a notepad, which he usually reserves for lyrics, and writes a to do list on it. One; call mom. Two; find a place to live. Three; find a job. Four; find Seunghyun. That’s as far as his mind lets him go, his body drifting back into a serene state filled with laughter, and most importantly, Seunghyun.
--------------------------------------------
Seunghyun grumbles storming through the cubicles of his floor. He’s the director of sales and marketing, willing to give his assistant a generous salary, but none of the insolent employees last more than two weeks.
He’s stuck buying his own coffee (at a local shop, now), answering his own emails, taking his own calls and messages, while the rest of the office live amicably, dealing with nothing but their own work. Any chance he gets though, he piles on work for the assistant manager. But considering he’s somewhat incompetent, Seunghyun usually ends up getting penalized by the higher bosses.
Seunghyun has no choice but to put an ad, as pathetic and vile as most are, for a personal assistant. The imbeciles in his office are too frightened to become an object of the current betting to apply for the position. Therefore he’s forced to post ads online, in community centers and anywhere else pathetic people might look. (Though he makes his incompetent assistant manager do it, of course.)
If she was still alive, he ponders, he would have begged her to work for him.
She was an extraordinarily brilliant girl who was taken away before she could reach her full potential. And though it’s been a year since she passed on, he refuses to let her go, refuses to let another woman fill her spot. He looks at the gold framed picture of her, kissing it and sliding it back into a locked drawer.
--------------------------------------
Jiyong feels great, almost better than before. He climbs out of bed, stretching in all directions and rushing into the bathroom-he can’t remember the last time he’s showered. Not that anyone in the hospital cares if he’s squeaky clean and dressed to impress, but now that his body is working again, and his mood picked up, he needs to look good too.
His hair is messy and flat from lying in bed, but it’s still silky. Jiyong grabs a strand, it smells like the disinfectant he has on his pillow, and that’s quite a turn off. The bags under his eyes aren’t as deep as they once were, but he’s lost some weight and his tank top is hanging off his shoulder. Jiyong still ends up smiling at his reflection in the foggy mirror.
He sniffs under his armpits and is pleasantly surprised when there’s no foul odor. But then he vaguely remembers that nagging nurse giving him a sponge bath when he was half asleep. Are they even allowed to bathe you when you’re asleep? Not that it matters, now that he can shower on his own and to his heart’s content.
He locks the bathroom door behind himself, nude in less than a minute, and jumps below the warm water. Today, he is going to find a place to live and a job; he needs to smell better than usual. (Which isn’t saying much considering where he’s been for over half a year.) He hums underneath the warmth from the shower, ignoring the nurse as she complains about him not eating his breakfast yet. He isn’t going to either. He’s going to buy something with the little money he has on him.
There’s a white towel folded neatly in a cupboard, Jiyong grabs it and dabs away the moisture, feeling like a new person. He slips on his clothes from before, drying his hair and trying to remember the number to his parents’ home. There wasn’t a need before he moved to use phones in his town; everything was within walking distance.
Jiyong unlocks the bathroom, a fog of steam following him out as he ends up face to face with the irritating (and irritable) nurse. “Hello.” He squeezes his locks with the white towel.
“Since you’re being discharged today, I thought you should know we contacted your parents.” She picks up the tray of uneaten food and sighs, before continuing. “They said they have a place for you to stay temporarily, until you find a job.” She looks him up and down, sizing him up. “You’re lucky to have such nice parents. They even paid the hospital bill.”
Jiyong gasps, putting his hand on her shoulder as a reflex, pulling it away when she looks down at it like she might bite it. “Really? I was just going to look for an apartment and a job to pay--“ He chuckles nervously when she starts tapping her foot on the ground. “Anyways, I’ll thank them, don’t worry.” Not that he should have to explain himself to a nurse as mean as her.
It’s a new world, he’s a new man and it feels like he’s had a fresh start--finally.
----------------------------------------
Seunghyun cancels all his meetings for the next two days, preparing himself for the many interesting, but especially tedious, interviews. His bosses agree as long as he promises his assistant will stay for more than just a few weeks.
Seunghyun expects there will be many people applying; the reputation of the company is impeccable. But what he doesn’t expect is the amount of losers among them, who don’t even have a high school diploma or experience doing office work.
Seunghyun gets straight to the point by the time noon comes around; his stomach is aching to be filled up. “Have you graduated high school?”
“Yes.” Finally, he thinks, next question.
“Do you have experience working in offices?” He waits, his pencil in hand with the candidate’s resume on his desk.
The man chuckles a bit. “Funny you should ask. I just up and decided to change fields of work. I was a brick layer before.”
Seunghyun is intrigued, but for all the wrong reasons, he knows. How does someone earning easily 50 thousand a year, quit and decide to become an intern? There was something unrealistic about the story. “Okay well, I’ll let you know my decision later this week.” Seunghyun gets up to shake the man’s hand.
“But I didn’t even get to tell why I’d be perfect for the-“
“I’ve heard enough,” Seunghyun clenches his teeth. “Goodbye.” He slams the door in the man’s face.
They were all idiots. No, Seunghyun corrects, they were like cockroaches; multiplying and infesting his workspace, being nuisances and giving him a splitting headache.
His only haven is with the food by his side, as he munches on warm McDonald’s fries and hums, snarling like a beast when he chomps into the burger. Lunchtime is his favorite time of day, especially since he has no one to share supper with anymore. He sips at his diet coke (pointless, he knew), reading the label about a foundation dedicated to finding organ donors. Seunghyun grumbles, pushing the drink further away, the label facing his door.
Why did she have to give herself away? Maybe he was greedy for wanting to keep all his insides inside, but he felt like he wouldn’t make it to the afterlife without those parts. But then he realizes what it could mean, and he smiles. If her organs were still around, pieces of her could be too, and maybe they could meet again without him having to die.
Seunghyun chuckles a bit, dragging his drink back and sipping on it happily.
-------------------------------------
Jiyong presses his face against the window of a shop with colorful, trendy clothes. Most of his clothes were made by his mother, not to say she wasn’t good, but it isn’t as nice. Strangers pass by, gawking and pointing at him-he can’t help standing out with his face deformed, squished against the glass. He rushes into the store, grabbing a handful of shirts and pants. Jiyong contemplates trying them on, but decides not to; he knows his size, even with the weight loss.
A few minutes later, he’s in another shop, fancier than the last. He needs proper clothes if he’s going to find a job that pays well enough to support him and his family. Jiyong buys some turtlenecks, some vests, brand name sweaters, and black dress pants (that all look the same). The boss will have to deal with his colorful running shoes; he can’t stand those god-awful loafers or the likes.
He walks down the street, whistling, his hands full of shopping bags. The address the nurse gave him is hard to read, but he finds it eventually. He lives on top of a grocery store with a pharmacy right across the street. He wonders if his parents planned it that way, or if it’s just a coincidence. He’s pleased nonetheless.
It’s already noon when he’s finish unpacking, but he needs to find a job, so meals will have to wait until he gathers some newspaper clippings. He goes into the pharmacy across the street, knowing they have a bulletin board, as well as free local newspapers. (His roommate told him so.) Jiyong browses through the store a bit, grabbing a packaged sandwich and a newspaper.
There are some hair products on sale near the front cash register, one of which is platinum blond hair coloring. Jiyong tries to picture himself for a minute with the color, grinning when it seems to have a satisfying result. He shoves two boxes into the basket he’s holding and beams at the cashier when she scans them.
He spends the rest of the day rushing around downtown, being turned down by multiple employers. Jiyong knew it would be difficult; his only experience being that of farm work and studying. He’d never had a full-time job before and didn’t expect to need one so quick.
Jiyong’s sweating and he remembers he has a pill to swallow to prevent his heart from acting up. Passersby whisper, maybe not particularly about him, but he takes it that way. He sticks his tongue out and rushes down the street back to his place.
Jiyong wakes up the next day, chips stuck to his face and hair disheveled and tangled. He can’t live alone for long, he knows. He’s too lazy to cook, and having chips for supper every night isn’t a good idea. Jiyong drags himself to the bathroom mirror, sliding his fingers through his hair lazily---it’s getting too long to manage. There’s scissors in the cupboard, but then there’s the hair dye from yesterday and it inspires him for more.
A change would do him good.
Jiyong snips off at least an inch of hair and slips on the plastic gloves. Goodbye brown, hello blond hair. He hums while he coats his hair in the--toxic, but effective--product, anxious to see the result.
----------------------------------------
Seunghyun yawns, and yawns, and yawns so much his jaw starts hurting. The candidates today are boring and predictable, even though they fit his profile. Seunghyun tries his best; cracking immature jokes, and making weird clicking sounds with his tongue to get a rise out of them---but nothing works. He wishes he could tell them to fuck off and grow a sense of humor, but he can’t.
These aren’t people he can work with; he can’t even stand them for 10 minutes.
McDonald’s it is again. Seunghyun interviews people while chewing on his leftover fries; it wasn’t like anyone would be suitable anyways. When he’s on break, he takes out his girlfriend’s picture, running his thumb over it slowly, remembering how soft her skin was.
A whirlwind of a man knocks on his door repeatedly. Seunghyun narrows his eyes at the young man with blond hair. He doesn’t seem like someone coming for an interview, he ponders, he could be a disgruntled employee. He doesn’t act like it, though. The man’s smiling ear to ear, waving in the office.
Seunghyun finally gives up, gesturing for the enthusiastic man to come in. He enters, plopping down on the chair in an unprofessional manner. Apparently he does expect to be interviewed, Seunghyun realizes as he’s being handed the pink resume. Pink? He can hardly believe it himself..
“So,” Seunghyun clears his throat. “Kwon Jiyong, is it?”
“Yes!” Jiyong leans up in his seat, smile plastered over his face.
“Have you graduated high school?” Seunghyun fixes the dark frames on the edge of his nose.
“I have,” Jiyong rocks in his chair, impatient for the next question.
“You’ve worked in an office before?” Seunghyun’s lips curl into a smirk, the resume was cute, but it looked amateur.
Jiyong looks down, fidgets in his seat, then looks up again. “I haven’t really-“
Seunghyun snorts. “So why should I hire you?” He removes his glasses, moving his dark locks from his eyes.
Jiyong stares mouth agape; it’s Seunghyun, the Seunghyun from his dreams. He pinches himself before looking back up at the serious man. It really is him, he’s not imagining it. Jiyong sits back in his seat, straightening his posture and fixing his tie. It’s do or die time, he mumbles.
“Sir, I think I could be a good addition to your team. I’m loyal and hardworking and a fast learner-“
Seunghyun puts his hand up. “Okay, I got it.” He chuckles a bit; if nothing else, Jiyong has determination and guts. Those rainbow shoes of his didn’t get past Seunghyun unnoticed.
“I’ll give you a try.” Seunghyun rubs his temple, knowing he’ll probably regret this at a later date.
Jiyong jumps out of his seat, throwing himself at Seunghyun, but remembers it’s his boss and puts out his palm instead. “I won’t let you down!” He disappears out the way he came, smiling and waving through the glass. Seunghyun shakes his head and waves.
He remembers some details he forgot to tell Jiyong, but he figures he can contact him later if need be. He has the kid’s phone number on this--interesting--resume. Seunghyun snorts, cute kid, he slips his fingers through his hair. Reminds him of someone. He wonders who for a short while, but gives up when it doesn’t come to mind.
------------------
End of Part 1.
Comments are ♥
Pairing: GDxTop (Big Bang)
Genre: AU, a bit of everything.
Rating: R for this part.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, but I wish I did.
Summary: Top is a rich business man with everything. GD is a poor country boy who needs a heart.
Notes: Prompted and betad by midorihaven ♥. It's only split in two because it was too long to post in one entry.
One Heart
Seunghyun fixes his shirt cuffs, glancing at his watch for the umpteenth time; it wasn’t like her to be late. His fingers tap against the mahogany table, his legs crossed and restless underneath it. The waiter stops in front of him, asking to remove the extra chair. Seunghyun was polite at first, but now he’s speaking through clenched teeth, “No you cannot. Stop asking.” The startled man shuffles off into the kitchen.
Seunghyun sighs loudly, couples looking over from their tables and then away when he narrows his eyes at them. He looks at his watch once more, denying the fact that his girlfriend was almost 30 minutes late. Undoing his tie and opening a few of his top buttons, he stretches out under the table. If she was going to be this late, he would need to cool down before her arrival.
Seunghyun huffs, crossing his arms and staring at the clock of his cellphone placed beside silverware. The waiter returns, bottle of wine in one hand, towel in the other. “Can I offer you a glass while you wait, sir?” Seunghyun nods, gesturing for him to go ahead, not taking his eyes away from his cellphone. The waiter forces a smile, pouring the red liquid into the glass, putting it down on the table gently. Seunghyun takes the glass between his middle fingers, parting his lips slightly to sip it, as his phone vibrates against the table. He picks up frantically, spilling his glass of wine on the table.
“Where are you!?” Seunghyun shouts, disturbing the other couples’ evening.
“Sir, your girlfriend has been in an accident ---“
Seunghyun slides his phone into his jacket, bolting up from his seat and rushing out the front door.
--------------------------------------------------
Jiyong kisses his mother on both cheeks, pulling her into a warm hug. She smiles, sighing and fixing his shirt collar. He chuckles a bit, whispering for her to tell dad about why he’s gone. She nods, pushing him out the door a bit rougher than she means to. If she didn’t do it this way she’d never let him go.
He smiles, shielding his eyes from the sun. “Don’t worry, I’ll find a good job and help you pay for the house!” Jiyong waves, running to catch his bus into the city.
It’ll be hard to leave his hometown, but he knows it’s for the best. The medical coverage and services were much better in Seoul. His heart wasn’t going to last much longer without it.
His mother closes the door when she sees him get on the bus, leaning her back against the frame. There’s a picture of Jiyong hanging on the wall, she runs her fingers over it pensively. He hasn’t changed much in the past years. His hair is still long and brown, he still wears multicolored bandannas, still has his huge smile and the same brooding eyes that contradict his smile. She knows that Jiyong needs that transplant soon; the doctors predicted that he would have heart failure within the next year.
--------------------------------------
Seunghyun pants when he reaches the reception of the hospital. He asks for his girlfriend’s room number and the secretary shies away, avoiding his gaze. “Where is she?” Seunghyun says louder.
“Go down the hall to your left, intensive care.” The woman points, still incapable of looking him directly in the eyes, as she finishes giving him directions.
Seunghyun rushes down the hall, brushing past a slender man with brown hair on the way, knocking his papers out of his hands accidentally. Jiyong grumbles, watching the man continue to run through the corridor without even trying to apologize.
Seunghyun stops in his tracks when he finds her room, his hand shaking as it covers his mouth. He walks over to-what he believes-is his girlfriend, or what’s left of her. He looks at the hospital bracelet on her wrist, noticing the name and dropping to his knees. This broken person is her-the only woman he’s ever loved.
He fights back his tears, his breath coming out in gasps, kissing her hand softly. A doctor with a clipboard comes in, fixing his frames, not to startle the young man, before he interrupts by clearing his throat. “I’m sorry to bother you at such a time.”
Seunghyun puts her hand back on her stomach, getting off the ground and wiping his eyes quickly. “How is she?”
“I’m sorry,” The doctor sighs, his shoulders drooping. “There’s nothing we can do. There’s too much blood in her lungs.”
Seunghyun cringes, his muscles tensing up throughout his body. He knew it was serious, but he never thought he’d be saying goodbye to this woman-who looked nothing like his girlfriend---while she was on life support.
His head starts spinning and he feels like he might throw up or fall down again. The doctor’s still talking, but Seunghyun can’t hear anything except a buzzing noise and her voice ringing in his ears. At some point, the doctor’s hand is on his shoulder, trying to console him. But now he can’t see the doctor in front of him either. And at that moment, Seunghyun feels his whole body shut down and the lights in the room fade to black.
--------------------------------------------
Jiyong sighs, fixing his dark hoodie and tapping his pack of papers against the corner of the receptionist’s desk. “Miss, I was told to give these to you. It’s my application for a heart transplant.”
She nods, taking the forms and stapling them as the other hand reaches to answer the incessant phone. She moves the receiver away from her mouth, “Please sit down, you’ll have some tests to go through.”
Jiyong blinks, falling onto the plastic waiting room chair. He sighs, fixing his thin bandanna and crossing his legs. He waits, watches, thinks. The receptionist’s shift is over, and yet, he’s still waiting. Ambulances pass through quickly, sometimes with minor injuries, sometimes with crying families. Doctors call out names of patients. Jiyong sits up when he sees them, slumping back down when they call for someone else. He eventually falls asleep, his eyes too heavy to stay open.
There’s a voice whispering, telling him to wake up, but the fish in his pond still haven’t been caught. Can’t he just stay in dreamland a little longer? The hand shakes his shoulder gently, his eyes cracking open and glaring at the sunlight slipping in through the open blinds
“Kwon Jiyong? The doctor will see you now.” It’s the same receptionist from a few hours ago.
He sits up, pulling on his hood to hide from the dreaded sunlight. It was too early for him to be awake and have to deal with that. Jiyong looks for the number of the room, forcing his eyes to focus when he can’t even remember what he was waiting for to begin with. Oh yeah, he sighs, a heart and then he’s wide awake.
The room is empty when he gets in, save for a bed and some basic medical equipment. A door he hadn’t even noticed opens, and an exhausted doctor appears with a clipboard in hand. “How are you today?”
“Fine, I guess.” Jiyong yawns, swinging his feet off the hospital bed.
“Well, I have good news and bad news.” But the doctor’s smile seems a bit misleading.
“Bad news? Whatever.” Jiyong creases his brow. Did this mean he was going to die?
The doctor’s smile grows. “Actually I’ll tell you it all together.” The doctor double checks his clipboard, leaning it against his chest when he’s done. “We have a heart for you, but you need to go into surgery now. We won’t have time to do all the tests.”
Jiyong doesn’t know if he should laugh, cry, or scream. He resorts to jumping on the doctor and hanging from his neck, his eyes filling with tears. The doctor seems touched, patting Jiyong on the back. “Let’s get you changed.”
----------------------------------------
All he can think about is her. She was the cautious one, the grounded one, the one who always wanted things to be fair. Seunghyun curses under his breath, slamming down a bottle of beer. This wasn’t fair, not to him, and least of all to her.
Warm tears slide down his cheeks but he doesn’t even bother wiping them anymore. Soju is starting to taste like water (or piss), he notes, guzzling down the rest of the bottle and breaking it against his table. The last sip is saltier, maybe because of the tears he refuses to acknowledge, but he continues to drink blindly.
He cracks open another bottle, slouching in his leather sofa that she picked out, trying to remember the details of her face, her voice, her habits---everything. If he forgets, he’s lost her completely and that would mean the end.
If life was going to treat the good people like that, then he was going to do it as well. Being nice never landed him a job, never let him get ahead, never made girls like him. And life definitely didn’t care about morals and caution---death even less. If there’s one thing he learned it was: no matter how good and pure you are, someone stupid and careless can come along, stealing your hopes and dreams in a few seconds.
What was the point?
---------------------------------------------
Jiyong is aching. Everything feels numb and pulling, and as much as he’d like to turn over, the bed is too small. He sighs, his eyes still closed, frowning with the tight feeling in his chest. This is him on strong painkillers, he couldn’t imagine without. He gets comfortable and decides to go back to sleep----there’s not much else he can do.
He thinks he’s dreaming, but he’s not completely sure. He figures, since his body doesn’t hurt and he’s able to walk around, it can’t be real. But the man in front of him looks so real, and only slightly familiar.
His hair is dark and shining below the miniature chandelier in the apartment. Jiyong doesn’t recognize the place more than the man, but it feels cozy. The stranger, clearly a businessman by his designer suit and watch, leans in and kisses Jiyong. It’s soft and thorough, almost uncharacteristically so, even though Jiyong doesn’t know him.
The man smiles, his eyes as dark as ebony and intense, sliding his fingers through long hair. He leans in, pressing his forehead to Jiyong’s and whispering: “Why would you give your heart away? It belongs to me.” There’s laughter, and it doesn’t sound like Jiyong’s voice. But it feels like he’s been there before, like he can almost remember if he just pays closer attention.
“Good morning!” A nurse puts a plate down on Jiyong’s tray, sliding it over his bed.
Jiyong’s eyes snap open as he sits up in his bed abruptly. Too fast, he groans. It hurts, worse than before, the feeling of his limbs being pulled apart back again. Maybe it would have been better to just die--he thinks for a second--but decides to throw away that thought.
-------------------------------------------------
Seunghyun cracks his knuckles looking at the letter from his newest intern. It’s amusing how they can’t seem to last his boot camp. His own boss is much harder on him, but you don’t see him complaining and leaving hate letters. Seunghyun smirks, cynical thoughts swirling through his mind as he reads it aloud.
Dear Choi Seunghyun,
Go fuck yourself! No one deserves to be treated like this!
I’m not some lab rat you can push to the limit just for your own entertainment.
I shouldn’t have to sleep in the office because you don’t like working alone and not get paid for the overtime! I hope you die a horrible death!
He has already died. This Seunghyun is a different one. Reborn with horns and thick skin, flames surround him and he keeps nothing but victory in his mind to drive him. Love and compassion are a thing of the past, he mumbles, dialing the number of his secretary.
“Get me another intern, now!” Seunghyun hangs up, taking a cigar from his drawer and lighting it.
----------------------------------------------
Jiyong wakes--able to sit up in his bed-and eats the horrid hospital food. He’s not sure what it is, but the colors are nice so he forces the substance down his throat. If he doesn’t eat, the nurse will spoon-feed him; she already threatened to a few days ago.
His stomach is full. Full of what, he’d rather not know, but full nonetheless. His eyelids feel heavy as he lies back against his pillow. At the rate he’s drifting into slumber, he’s skeptical as to what the nurse slipped in the lunch. (Or, possibly, this is what it felt like to have a full stomach?)
The man is back, he notices right away, their fingers intertwining. A voice, the same voice that answers the man constantly, whispers the stranger’s name lovingly: Seunghyun. The name suits him, he thinks, elegant and serious. They continue walking down the beach hand in hand, smiles almost too big to be real. Jiyong watches like Seunghyun is distant and close at once, like he can almost touch his heart if he reaches for it.
Jiyong isn’t someone who likes labels, nor does he label people, but he never thought he’d be falling for a man in his dreams. It isn’t only the fact that Seunghyun is a man, because he’s seen how wonderful and gorgeous he can be, but rather that he lives only in his dreams. And dreams are often misleading, especially with matters of the heart.
His stomach growls and Jiyong is forced out of sleep--again--his abdomen rumbling like a storm. There’s a fresh tray of colorful mash in front of him, no thanks to the nurse. It’s already night time; he realizes when the usual ray of sunshine isn’t driving him insane. He smiles, fork swirling in the mystery food. Though he knows it’s wrong on so many levels, he can’t wait to fall back asleep and see Seunghyun. He scrambles to eat whatever’s on his plate, forcing it down with some water and curling up against his pillow.
-----------------------------------------
Seunghyun rolls his eyes. It’s obvious the new guy doesn’t take him seriously when he says he knows his coffee. The guy was probably late so he rushed into whichever coffee shop was nearby and kept a spare cup from the real place, pouring this cheap shit in it and passing it off as the good stuff.
“Intern,” For this, Seunghyun decides, he won’t have a name today. “Get me the coffee I like.”
The man stands in front of him for a long moment, confused and insulted, not sure which emotion is leading. Seunghyun looks up at him, widening his eyes to press the matter, finger tapping against his watch.
The man takes the coffee from Seunghyun’s desk, rushing out the door and closing it behind him softly. He’s aware that his coworkers were betting on how long this intern would last. But they didn’t know that he was in on it, as well. The record for the last 20 people who came in and out is two weeks. And she was the only woman.
Seunghyun chuckles at the thought. Too bad it took a woman to have some balls.
------------------------------------------
Jiyong doesn’t even know how to swim, but he can when he’s with Seunghyun. They have a beautiful outdoor pool and Seunghyun is at ease as he swims around in it. Jiyong watches from the side, his feet swinging in the water.
Seunghyun dives under water, popping out in front of Jiyong, looking more gorgeous than usual. His hair is slicked back and dripping onto the golden skin of his chest and arms. He flexes his muscles playfully, his smile brighter than the sun beaming above.
This is heaven to Jiyong. And he wouldn’t care if he stayed in this fantasy world forever, as long as Seunghyun would be there with him. Jiyong doesn’t need to wake up, doesn’t want to---so long as Seunghyun stays by his side.
But his chest tenses when he coughs, and suddenly there’s a light shining in his eyes. A doctor is yelling above him, but all he can hear is Seunghyun’s laugh and all he needs is to get closer, to actually touch him. He realizes it’s time to wake up when the voice shouting over Seunghyun’s is frantic and shaking him more violently.
A doctor finally pulls him out of his dream. “Jiyong, I need you awake.”
Jiyong pushes himself up with his elbows, blinking away the sleep. “Yes, I’m up. What’s wrong?”
“If you’re getting a cold, it might be your body rejecting the heart.” The doctor places his stethoscope to Jiyong’s chest.
He hisses, the cold metal too much of a contrast for his warm skin. The doctor listens, asking Jiyong to breathe in and out heavily. He takes a pen and scribbles something on a pad. Jiyong tries to read it, expecting the worst. His life always seems to hit rock bottom when he thinks he’s finally climbing out of the dark & empty crevasse.
“I think it’s from the draft. The window next to your bed doesn’t close all the way.” The doctor puts the stethoscope around his neck. “I think you should try to sleep only 3 hours at a time. I’ll bring you an alarm if you need one.”
Jiyong nods, wondering where the bad news went---there wasn’t any. All he needs to do is see Seunghyun a bit less often and he’ll survive. That’s basically what it came down to, in his mind at least. What went on in the doctor’s mind, he’d rather not know. Jiyong sighs happily, lying back against the pillow he’s more than used to.
“Oh, and I think you’ll need to start looking for somewhere else to stay. You’re pretty much healed.” The doctor smiles, clicking the top of his pen and sliding it into his pocket.
Jiyong doesn’t know how long he’s been in the hospital, but he’s certain that his family think he’s dead. He was so preoccupied with Seunghyun and those dreams, he’d forgotten to contact his parents. They’re probably worried sick.
He takes out a notepad, which he usually reserves for lyrics, and writes a to do list on it. One; call mom. Two; find a place to live. Three; find a job. Four; find Seunghyun. That’s as far as his mind lets him go, his body drifting back into a serene state filled with laughter, and most importantly, Seunghyun.
--------------------------------------------
Seunghyun grumbles storming through the cubicles of his floor. He’s the director of sales and marketing, willing to give his assistant a generous salary, but none of the insolent employees last more than two weeks.
He’s stuck buying his own coffee (at a local shop, now), answering his own emails, taking his own calls and messages, while the rest of the office live amicably, dealing with nothing but their own work. Any chance he gets though, he piles on work for the assistant manager. But considering he’s somewhat incompetent, Seunghyun usually ends up getting penalized by the higher bosses.
Seunghyun has no choice but to put an ad, as pathetic and vile as most are, for a personal assistant. The imbeciles in his office are too frightened to become an object of the current betting to apply for the position. Therefore he’s forced to post ads online, in community centers and anywhere else pathetic people might look. (Though he makes his incompetent assistant manager do it, of course.)
If she was still alive, he ponders, he would have begged her to work for him.
She was an extraordinarily brilliant girl who was taken away before she could reach her full potential. And though it’s been a year since she passed on, he refuses to let her go, refuses to let another woman fill her spot. He looks at the gold framed picture of her, kissing it and sliding it back into a locked drawer.
--------------------------------------
Jiyong feels great, almost better than before. He climbs out of bed, stretching in all directions and rushing into the bathroom-he can’t remember the last time he’s showered. Not that anyone in the hospital cares if he’s squeaky clean and dressed to impress, but now that his body is working again, and his mood picked up, he needs to look good too.
His hair is messy and flat from lying in bed, but it’s still silky. Jiyong grabs a strand, it smells like the disinfectant he has on his pillow, and that’s quite a turn off. The bags under his eyes aren’t as deep as they once were, but he’s lost some weight and his tank top is hanging off his shoulder. Jiyong still ends up smiling at his reflection in the foggy mirror.
He sniffs under his armpits and is pleasantly surprised when there’s no foul odor. But then he vaguely remembers that nagging nurse giving him a sponge bath when he was half asleep. Are they even allowed to bathe you when you’re asleep? Not that it matters, now that he can shower on his own and to his heart’s content.
He locks the bathroom door behind himself, nude in less than a minute, and jumps below the warm water. Today, he is going to find a place to live and a job; he needs to smell better than usual. (Which isn’t saying much considering where he’s been for over half a year.) He hums underneath the warmth from the shower, ignoring the nurse as she complains about him not eating his breakfast yet. He isn’t going to either. He’s going to buy something with the little money he has on him.
There’s a white towel folded neatly in a cupboard, Jiyong grabs it and dabs away the moisture, feeling like a new person. He slips on his clothes from before, drying his hair and trying to remember the number to his parents’ home. There wasn’t a need before he moved to use phones in his town; everything was within walking distance.
Jiyong unlocks the bathroom, a fog of steam following him out as he ends up face to face with the irritating (and irritable) nurse. “Hello.” He squeezes his locks with the white towel.
“Since you’re being discharged today, I thought you should know we contacted your parents.” She picks up the tray of uneaten food and sighs, before continuing. “They said they have a place for you to stay temporarily, until you find a job.” She looks him up and down, sizing him up. “You’re lucky to have such nice parents. They even paid the hospital bill.”
Jiyong gasps, putting his hand on her shoulder as a reflex, pulling it away when she looks down at it like she might bite it. “Really? I was just going to look for an apartment and a job to pay--“ He chuckles nervously when she starts tapping her foot on the ground. “Anyways, I’ll thank them, don’t worry.” Not that he should have to explain himself to a nurse as mean as her.
It’s a new world, he’s a new man and it feels like he’s had a fresh start--finally.
----------------------------------------
Seunghyun cancels all his meetings for the next two days, preparing himself for the many interesting, but especially tedious, interviews. His bosses agree as long as he promises his assistant will stay for more than just a few weeks.
Seunghyun expects there will be many people applying; the reputation of the company is impeccable. But what he doesn’t expect is the amount of losers among them, who don’t even have a high school diploma or experience doing office work.
Seunghyun gets straight to the point by the time noon comes around; his stomach is aching to be filled up. “Have you graduated high school?”
“Yes.” Finally, he thinks, next question.
“Do you have experience working in offices?” He waits, his pencil in hand with the candidate’s resume on his desk.
The man chuckles a bit. “Funny you should ask. I just up and decided to change fields of work. I was a brick layer before.”
Seunghyun is intrigued, but for all the wrong reasons, he knows. How does someone earning easily 50 thousand a year, quit and decide to become an intern? There was something unrealistic about the story. “Okay well, I’ll let you know my decision later this week.” Seunghyun gets up to shake the man’s hand.
“But I didn’t even get to tell why I’d be perfect for the-“
“I’ve heard enough,” Seunghyun clenches his teeth. “Goodbye.” He slams the door in the man’s face.
They were all idiots. No, Seunghyun corrects, they were like cockroaches; multiplying and infesting his workspace, being nuisances and giving him a splitting headache.
His only haven is with the food by his side, as he munches on warm McDonald’s fries and hums, snarling like a beast when he chomps into the burger. Lunchtime is his favorite time of day, especially since he has no one to share supper with anymore. He sips at his diet coke (pointless, he knew), reading the label about a foundation dedicated to finding organ donors. Seunghyun grumbles, pushing the drink further away, the label facing his door.
Why did she have to give herself away? Maybe he was greedy for wanting to keep all his insides inside, but he felt like he wouldn’t make it to the afterlife without those parts. But then he realizes what it could mean, and he smiles. If her organs were still around, pieces of her could be too, and maybe they could meet again without him having to die.
Seunghyun chuckles a bit, dragging his drink back and sipping on it happily.
-------------------------------------
Jiyong presses his face against the window of a shop with colorful, trendy clothes. Most of his clothes were made by his mother, not to say she wasn’t good, but it isn’t as nice. Strangers pass by, gawking and pointing at him-he can’t help standing out with his face deformed, squished against the glass. He rushes into the store, grabbing a handful of shirts and pants. Jiyong contemplates trying them on, but decides not to; he knows his size, even with the weight loss.
A few minutes later, he’s in another shop, fancier than the last. He needs proper clothes if he’s going to find a job that pays well enough to support him and his family. Jiyong buys some turtlenecks, some vests, brand name sweaters, and black dress pants (that all look the same). The boss will have to deal with his colorful running shoes; he can’t stand those god-awful loafers or the likes.
He walks down the street, whistling, his hands full of shopping bags. The address the nurse gave him is hard to read, but he finds it eventually. He lives on top of a grocery store with a pharmacy right across the street. He wonders if his parents planned it that way, or if it’s just a coincidence. He’s pleased nonetheless.
It’s already noon when he’s finish unpacking, but he needs to find a job, so meals will have to wait until he gathers some newspaper clippings. He goes into the pharmacy across the street, knowing they have a bulletin board, as well as free local newspapers. (His roommate told him so.) Jiyong browses through the store a bit, grabbing a packaged sandwich and a newspaper.
There are some hair products on sale near the front cash register, one of which is platinum blond hair coloring. Jiyong tries to picture himself for a minute with the color, grinning when it seems to have a satisfying result. He shoves two boxes into the basket he’s holding and beams at the cashier when she scans them.
He spends the rest of the day rushing around downtown, being turned down by multiple employers. Jiyong knew it would be difficult; his only experience being that of farm work and studying. He’d never had a full-time job before and didn’t expect to need one so quick.
Jiyong’s sweating and he remembers he has a pill to swallow to prevent his heart from acting up. Passersby whisper, maybe not particularly about him, but he takes it that way. He sticks his tongue out and rushes down the street back to his place.
Jiyong wakes up the next day, chips stuck to his face and hair disheveled and tangled. He can’t live alone for long, he knows. He’s too lazy to cook, and having chips for supper every night isn’t a good idea. Jiyong drags himself to the bathroom mirror, sliding his fingers through his hair lazily---it’s getting too long to manage. There’s scissors in the cupboard, but then there’s the hair dye from yesterday and it inspires him for more.
A change would do him good.
Jiyong snips off at least an inch of hair and slips on the plastic gloves. Goodbye brown, hello blond hair. He hums while he coats his hair in the--toxic, but effective--product, anxious to see the result.
----------------------------------------
Seunghyun yawns, and yawns, and yawns so much his jaw starts hurting. The candidates today are boring and predictable, even though they fit his profile. Seunghyun tries his best; cracking immature jokes, and making weird clicking sounds with his tongue to get a rise out of them---but nothing works. He wishes he could tell them to fuck off and grow a sense of humor, but he can’t.
These aren’t people he can work with; he can’t even stand them for 10 minutes.
McDonald’s it is again. Seunghyun interviews people while chewing on his leftover fries; it wasn’t like anyone would be suitable anyways. When he’s on break, he takes out his girlfriend’s picture, running his thumb over it slowly, remembering how soft her skin was.
A whirlwind of a man knocks on his door repeatedly. Seunghyun narrows his eyes at the young man with blond hair. He doesn’t seem like someone coming for an interview, he ponders, he could be a disgruntled employee. He doesn’t act like it, though. The man’s smiling ear to ear, waving in the office.
Seunghyun finally gives up, gesturing for the enthusiastic man to come in. He enters, plopping down on the chair in an unprofessional manner. Apparently he does expect to be interviewed, Seunghyun realizes as he’s being handed the pink resume. Pink? He can hardly believe it himself..
“So,” Seunghyun clears his throat. “Kwon Jiyong, is it?”
“Yes!” Jiyong leans up in his seat, smile plastered over his face.
“Have you graduated high school?” Seunghyun fixes the dark frames on the edge of his nose.
“I have,” Jiyong rocks in his chair, impatient for the next question.
“You’ve worked in an office before?” Seunghyun’s lips curl into a smirk, the resume was cute, but it looked amateur.
Jiyong looks down, fidgets in his seat, then looks up again. “I haven’t really-“
Seunghyun snorts. “So why should I hire you?” He removes his glasses, moving his dark locks from his eyes.
Jiyong stares mouth agape; it’s Seunghyun, the Seunghyun from his dreams. He pinches himself before looking back up at the serious man. It really is him, he’s not imagining it. Jiyong sits back in his seat, straightening his posture and fixing his tie. It’s do or die time, he mumbles.
“Sir, I think I could be a good addition to your team. I’m loyal and hardworking and a fast learner-“
Seunghyun puts his hand up. “Okay, I got it.” He chuckles a bit; if nothing else, Jiyong has determination and guts. Those rainbow shoes of his didn’t get past Seunghyun unnoticed.
“I’ll give you a try.” Seunghyun rubs his temple, knowing he’ll probably regret this at a later date.
Jiyong jumps out of his seat, throwing himself at Seunghyun, but remembers it’s his boss and puts out his palm instead. “I won’t let you down!” He disappears out the way he came, smiling and waving through the glass. Seunghyun shakes his head and waves.
He remembers some details he forgot to tell Jiyong, but he figures he can contact him later if need be. He has the kid’s phone number on this--interesting--resume. Seunghyun snorts, cute kid, he slips his fingers through his hair. Reminds him of someone. He wonders who for a short while, but gives up when it doesn’t come to mind.
------------------
End of Part 1.
Comments are ♥