Heartbreak Club - Part 3
Part 3
Jin stepped out of the elevator, wishing for the comfort of his home, in forms of bubble bath, food and sleep: exactly in that order. But when the figure of a Kamenashi Kazuya appeared before him, Jin gasped in disbelief.
He pointed his finger at the host. "You-you-"
"Yeah?"
Jin looked down at the floor, suddenly finding the floor so interesting, twiddling his fingers nervously. "Um, you."
Kame snickered. "I have not the slightest idea that your vocabulary level is so limited."
Jin pouted and puffed his cheeks, then marched to his door, -looking very much like a toy-soldier- and swiped his card at the sensor.
"Aren't you going to invite me in?"
Jin pondered for while, the pout still intact on his face. He finally opened the door and gestured for Kame to come in. "Sorry it's a bit of a mess.
"Seems like you, alright." Kame sneered.
Jin scowled. "If you're just here to insult me, you know, you'd better go."
"Fine," Kame announced, lifting both of his hands up, and moved around, "I'll go."
"No wait! Don’t go." Jin cried out, tugging at the end of Kame's dark blue jacket, causing the younger man to face him. "Please…?" he added as an afterthought, biting his bottom lips in hope that Kame would listen to his plea.
"What, now you're clinging on me?"
"You-you-you know what?" Jin yelled, releasing the jacket that he had been holding on to, "You're acting all high and mighty, insulting me all around, do you know how bad the day was for me? Ueda shouted at me, and my heart aches and…" he choked at his own words.
"And?" Kame prompted, looking mildly curious.
"And I could think of nothing but you-r kiss." Jin answered, mentally smacking himself for almost admitting that he was thinking of Kame. What he failed to note was that thinking of Kame's kiss also counted as thinking of Kame.
'So you’re thinking of me, huh?' Jin could almost imagine the host saying that to him, with that smug look on his face.
But the younger man still had not replied him.
Silence filled the room, creating an invisible bubble that neither wanted to burst. Jin shut his eyes tightly, waiting for the inevitable sarcastic remark, but when he heard Kame closing the door behind him, he dared himself to open up his eyes.
"Oh, you should've just ask, Jin." Kame shook his head with a 'tsk', and pressed his lips none-too-gently against Jin's. The model eagerly kissed him back, his hands grasping the fabric of Kame's jacket tightly as the host kissed him deeper. Kame was tracing the insides of his cheeks with his tongue, before lapping it with his tongue, and broke the wet kiss, a single thread of saliva dangling from their mouths.
Jin unconsciously licked the corner of his lips, the act was so wanton in Kame's eyes that it stirred something inside him.
"Do that again." Kame commanded almost breathlessly.
"What?" Jin asked, his brown orbs clouded with confusion.
The host didn't answer; instead he leaned forward and planted another kiss, gently at first, before it turned more insistent and desperate.
Jin's frustration and anger for the day were flung out of his mind. He no longer remembered about his job, about Ueda, or those other models mocking him, all he could think of were Kame's lips on his, Kame's tongue in his mouth, Kame's hands pressing against his back, and Kame's knees trapping his legs.
That was when Jin concluded that he had caught a special type of fever, called Kame-fever.
---*---
Kame expertly flipped the omelette in the pan, the top side browning nicely, and now he was waiting for the bottom side to turn into golden brown. He sighed, for yet another time, trying to figure out what he had been thinking last night, when he had agreed to Jin's plea to spend the night over. He had opted to sleep on the couch, and Jin looked mildly disappointed at his decision.
It was for the best, clingy clients would only spell trouble for him.
But the model looked so desperate, so lonely, clenching to the hem of his jacket, begging him to stay. He didn't quite know what had made him relented to the said model's wish, it was either he was really, really bored and had nothing better to do…or, he was in lo-
No.
He wouldn't even think of that.
He distracted himself by lifting the omelette up, and put it on the plate. The bread had been toasted, and he had arranged the butter and jam on the table. All that was left was to wake the spoilt brat up. But before he could decide on the most creative way to rouse the older man from his sleep, Jin's sleepy voice greeted him.
"Good morning." The model said, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes; his pyjama was rumpled from the effect of sleep and his bed hair was a tangled mess.
He looked adorable, totally different from the pictures of him that were splashing all over the magazines and billboards.
"Oh princess, do you always wake up this late?" Kame just didn’t want to miss the chance to tease the model.
"Shut up! I was emotionally drained!"
"Yeah, right." He softly snorted, putting the plate in front of Jin. "Eat up."
Jin brightened up as the aroma of the freshly cooked food entered his nostrils; the sight of food made his eyes all sparkly. Kame added this as another puppy-trait of Jin's to his list, watching in full amusement as Jin shoved a big portion of the egg into his mouth. "Woah, this is good!"
Kame snickered. "For an emotionally drained person, you certainly eat like a pig."
"I do not!" Jin pouted, but not for long, as he took a bite of his toast soon after that. Kame pulled the chair and sat down, pulling his plate close and cut his omelette into small pieces before eating them.
Jin thought that Kame must be the most elegant person he had ever met in his life. He even ate elegantly. Not to mention, his walking style, his sense of fashion…
He was staring at Kame lovingly, full of admiration, and Kame caught his eyes before he could turn his attention back to his food.
"What? You are not falling for me now, are you?" The host spoke, his chin was rested on his hand and he stared at Jin in a scrutinizing gaze.
"I'm not!"
Like hell he would.
He continued to dig in his food, taking another large bite of his buttered toast. When he felt Kame's eyes on him, he stopped eating and scowled at the host instead.
"Is there something wrong with my face?" he asked.
"No." Kame curtly replied, before leaning in, his face close to Jin's. "But there's butter at the corner of your lips."
He felt his heart jumping out of his chest when Kame swiped his tongue against his skin.
---*--
"Ryo, what's wrong with me? I feel like seeing that Kamenashi everyday, and, and-I can't stop thinking of him and---" Jin poured his feelings to his manager one day; he was having lots of sleepless nights just because his mind was filled with thoughts of a certain host. He was currently facing his manager, sitting with his legs crossed, Indian-style, on Ryo's expensive white couch.
The manager, who was not facing Jin at the moment, was obviously not finding the model barging into his house --on his precious day off-- at all pleasant, if the crinkled lines on his forehead were any indication. His wish to lounge around, doing nothing on his Jin-free day was scattered into pieces. And he had better not get his couch dirty! Feet; after all, were meant to stay on the floor, not on a white couch.
"You're just in love." Ryo stated matter-of-factly, finally facing the said model, pointing his index finger to Jin's chest. He was giving up the hope for the older man to figure his feelings out by himself, since Ryo was well-acquainted with the fact that Jin was probably even denser than a forest. And then maybe, just maybe, the taller man would finally stop bugging him and get his sorry ass out of his house.
"Excuse me, I'm not! Why would I fall for him? He's rude, he's sarcastic, he insults me, he-"
"Doesn't matter how big of a jerk he is, you love him. Maybe you're just a masochist." Ryo shot back, crossing his arms over his chest, slowly leaning back on his couch.
Jin gasped, throwing his sharpest glare at the younger man. "I am NOT." He objected. "Ryo, please, I'm serious here, do you think I'm sick?"
Ryo tried to bit back a groan, but apparently he was not so successful in his attempt. Honestly, this guy could be so clueless!
"Yeah, you're sick for sure. You're lovesick." Ryo didn’t intend for it to sound so sarcastic, but still, he was getting sick of Jin's denial.
"Not. Not in love, okay?" Jin protested, puffing his cheeks in the utmost cute manner-if he were a three year old.
Ryo snorted. He didn't count the possibility of Jin falling in love with Kame in his plan, but now that it happened, he figured he should just stand aside and let them move at their own pace. They should work it out themselves.
But now, seeing as Jin was here, babbling his heart out, Ryo figured that he won't be doing much of standing aside, after all…
Today would be a long, unfulfilling day.
---*---
Jin was at the peak of his frustration today. Nothing he did turned out right lately, his last few nights were spent laying awake and staring at the white ceiling of his room, he was still stumbling over the runway earlier today, earning him a glare from Ueda and a basketful of mocking sneers from his fellow models, and now, at his photo shoot location, the one which took place in a garden, this girl brought him the wrong food.
Ryo tagged along with him, smoking a cigarette under a flowerless Sakura tree, standing quite far from where Jin was. It was Jin's long awaited break, after hours of posing under the hot scorching sun, his make-up was re-touched up again and again until the skin of his face felt thick and cakey.
The combination of all those factors made the model super cranky, and without any consideration of whom and where he was, he blew out his pent-up frustration to the girl, over a silly mistake.
It was her fault, as she could have at least brought him the right order.
"You." He muttered, pointing his finger at the young girl. "I asked for chicken lasagne, and you got me a beef? Do you even know who I am?" Jin scolded the poor errand girl, looking utterly pissed off, while the girl was on the verge of crying.
"It's not as if there such a big difference!" She fought back. This proved to be a wrong move on her side; she didn’t realize that she was pouring oil onto Jin's burning flame.
Ryo moved to calm Jin down; being mad over such a small thing wouldn’t gain Jin a good reputation, it was not worth it. Symphony would not like it if the model's attitude affected their market, while the tabloids would have a field-day, writing a hot juicy gossip such as this.
Before he could reach the said model, an all-too-familiar figure beat him to it, appearing behind Jin just as he was about to strike at the girl -something Ryo would never dream of Jin doing, as it was totally against his nature.
"Tsk. Not a gentleman at all." Kame murmured, his right hand holding Jin's arm, "Don’t you know that it's not nice to hit a girl?"
"Kame-nashi?" He turned his head to meet Kame's gaze, almost saying the nickname he had coined for the male host out loud. But what was he doing here?
"What? No Kame-chan? You always call me Kame-chan, don’t you Jinjin?" Kame leaned his chin on Jin's shoulder, whispering seductively into Jin's ear. His breath was tickling the model's skin, and Jin found himself having a sudden urge to kiss the man. Their act made the girl blush madly at the scene, and he could hear Kame sniggering at the predictable reaction.
'Right. This is just for show. He's just pretending to be my boyfriend…' He thought, his eyes were cast low, yet he was not paying any attention to the green grass beneath his feet. He was biting the inside of his cheeks, something he would always do when he tried to prevent himself from speaking.
Kame pretended that he didn’t see Jin's reaction, and he hugged the man from the back, continuing his boyfriend act. "Forgive him, please? He's allergic to beef. And he was frustrated because he didn’t get his way last night, if you know what I mean." The host leered at the girl, wiggling his eyebrows, making the girl blush at the insinuation.
Nothing happened last night. They didn’t even see each other yesterday. But of course, the girl didn't need to know that. Why did it hurt so much, seeing Kame lying through his teeth, making up stories about their non-existent relationship?
'Am I really in love with him?' Jin pondered, before deciding that he was just being silly. He couldn't possibly fall in love with a man.
From the distance, Kame's eyes met Ryo's, their gazes locked for a fleeting moment, before the host broke it off to say something to the girl, hugging Jin's body all the while.
Ryo took a long drag from his cigarette. From the way things were, Kame might have been harbouring feelings for Jin too.
'That's good'. Ryo thought.
At least his ears will be spared from Jin's whines.
---*---
"I've decided." Jin announced on one fine morning, as they were enjoying a warm cup of coffee at a local café; the place was practically empty as it was still quite early. The workers were not paying any special attention to them, though Jin could almost hear the female waitresses whispering to each other; undoubtedly they knew who he was.
Being famous was fun, but at times, it made him feel suffocated. But at least, they tried their best to be discreet, and Jin certainly appreciated this gesture.
Ryo quirked an eyebrow in curiosity while bringing the rim of the white cup near to his lips, sipping the bitter liquid slowly. "Decided on what?"
"I'm gonna move in with Kame." Jin announced determinedly. "It would make us look more like a real couple wouldn't it?"
His manager choked on his coffee, barely stopping himself from sputtering the black liquid out. He clanked the coffee cup against its saucer, frowning at his friend. "Can't you just save yourself the trouble and admit that you love him?"
"It's for publicity's sake!" Jin argued, and all the workers in the café turned their heads towards the bickering pair.
Ryo bowed a little, apologizing for their rowdiness, and sighed. "Whatever you say, Jin, whatever you say."
---*--
Jin had never officially talked about moving in with Kame, his tactic was to be as subtle as he could. First, it started with frequent visits to Kame's apartment, followed by staying overnights, which led to him leaving his toothbrush in the host's bathroom and that gradually moved on to his spare shirt, his underwear, his pyjama, his sneakers and finally…his entire wardrobe had filled Kame's guestroom's closet. The poor cupboard looked as if it was going to burst from the sheer amount of clothing being shoved in it.
"Hey, this isn't mine…" Kame said one day, as he saw a glittery furry coat hanging on his couch.
"It's mine." Jin's eyes left the plasma screen TV for a while, the lollipop in his mouth obstructing him from pronouncing his words correctly, but the younger man understood him anyway.
"Oh." He replied, and moved to his kitchen, opening his refrigerator. That particular object was filled with sweet deserts and alcoholic beverages, and if the host was annoyed by this, he didn't voice out his dissatisfaction.
A month passed by with nothing eventful happening, but, without noticing, both men had reached to an almost domestic-like relationship. Kame would cook for them both while Jin would clean the house (he was not so good at it, but Kame let him when the other had insisted and then he ended up doing all the chores all over again when Jin was not around), and then Kame would drive Jin to work (wherever he was working at) and pick him up. Jin would set the table for dinner while Kame took a bath and they would have dinner together.
But yesterday, the routine was a bit different since the younger of the two had to work at night. Jin had drove himself home, and as he passed the familiar route, he couldn’t help feeling that somehow the space in the car seemed bigger, the air felt denser, and the world seemed emptier.
He missed how Kame babbled about saving the earth by sharing a car since it would lessen the release of carbon monoxide to the air.
He missed how Kame scolded him when he changed the channel of the radio (Kame had this favourite radio channel and he would throw a fit if somebody changed it).
He missed how Kame would see a random billboard advertising a new perfume and how he would immediately stop the car just to take note of its name.
But most importantly: he missed Kame.
No, wait- he couldn't possibly miss the guy!
He just missed his presence. Yeah, that was it: he just hated to be alone. It certainly had nothing to do with missing Kame.
…Right?
Jin's seemingly endless train of thoughts was cruelly crashed when a car honked at him. He scowled, ever ready to get in a row with the stupid cow with no consideration over other people's personal feelings when he realized that the traffic light had turned green and he was blocking the road by not moving.
Kame, Kame, Kame.
How could it be possible for a single person to fill up his entire thought?
Jin shook his head a few times and continued his journey home.
When Kame finally got home late last night, smelling of wine and expensive perfume, Jin pretended to sleep; his blanket was covering his whole head, almost suffocating himself in that piece of cloth. As the younger man dragged his feet to his room, Jin's mind was filled with the thought of curling right next to the man in his bed, hugging him close, instead of lying here alone on the couch. It was not that the furniture was uncomfortable, it was just that it was…
Lonely, somehow.
And that was how Jin found himself tossing and turning throughout the night, not getting even a wink of sleep until he finally gave up and knocked on Kame's door. He insisted that he was doing so because he was bored, and not because he missed the host.
"Kame!" He shouted, as his knuckles were in contact with the hard wood; the sound produced by the mere action echoed throughout the spacious apartment, but it seemed that it was not loud enough to wake the person who was sleeping inside the bedroom.
"Kame, wake up~!!!" Jin tried again, louder this time. And again, this time, there was no response.
Not good. He really missed-no, he was really bored now, so the host had to wake up. The model inhaled a lungful of air and was half-way shouting the host's name when the door suddenly swung open; revealing a groggy-looking Kame, complete with a set of bloodshot eyes, a concrete evidence that he was suffering from the lack of sleep.
"What do you want?" The shorter man asked, clearly annoyed.
"Good morning!" Kame thought that Jin greeted him all too cheerfully for a person who was not good in mornings.
Kame mumbled his greetings back, something that he thought was so out-of-character of him, but he found that he couldn't stay mad for long at this man. Maybe it was his bright smile, maybe it was his bundle of energy, but suddenly he was not as sleepy anymore and his mood improved.
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