[ Team One ] One Never Knows With Jaejoong
Happy Unbirthday to JJ.
The messenger bag bounced at his heels. Jaejoong had overextended the strap yet again. Or else he hadn’t bothered to tighten it to a proper length that would facilitate walking. Changmin winced just watching the heavy bag slam into Jaejoong’s calves.
“Are we almost there yet?” Jaejoong’s whine evaporated into the cold air like a curl of steam dissipating. His complaints were getting weaker as his strides faltered.
It’s the small mercies I have to be grateful for, Changmin thought. He shrugged in response, the same answer Jaejoong had gotten to every question that morning. “I dunno.”
“That’s not fair. I know you know!” Jaejoong kicked at a yellow clump of grass poking up through the cracked sidewalk and stumbled forward a few steps.
Changmin did know, of course. But he wasn’t going to let slip any hints. That would only ruin the surprise, and somehow he had managed to keep today a secret even after weeks of planning and even though Junsu, being his nosy self, had figured out the plot.
“Really, where are we going? I want to know.” Jaejoong slipped his fingers into the fringe of Changmin’s scarf and tugged, choking him a little, just enough to make Changmin’s scalp prickle with annoyance and his veins buzz with anticipation for later.
“You’ll see when we get there,” Changmin hummed. The teasing note of his non-answer provoked a gratifying huff from Jaejoong. “Just be patient, just a little longer.”
“How much longer? Three hours? You’ve been saying that since we left the house! You keep saying that--”
Changmin stopped short just after crossing a narrow street, tugging Jaejoong to a stand still beside him. “Shh,” he hissed, a gloved finger pressed to his smiling lips.
“What is--!”
“Surprise!” a motley chorus of voices interrupted. Junsu, Heechul, Yoochun, Donghae, BoA, and Yunho jumped up from behind the bushes at the entrance to the park. BoA stepped forward, holding a cake as Heechul started to sing “Happy Birthday” in an off key as loud as he could.
Changmin wrapped his arms around Jaejoong, who started shivering with excitement and the cold before they made it halfway through the song. “Happy birthday, Hyung,” Changmin whispered against Jaejoong’s neck.
“You idiots!” Jaejoong sniffed before he blew out the single lit candle that the wind hadn’t already extinguished. “Whoever heard of throwing a party outdoors in the middle of February? Besides, my birthday was last month!”
“We know,” Heechul said loudly with a disgusted click of his tongue.
“This was the only way we could manage to surprise you,” Yoochun explained with a shrug, “to throw it after your birthday.”
“Are you surprised?” Donghae asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet with anticipation. Then he sneezed all over Yunho’s coat sleeve.
“Well yeah, it worked,” Jaejoong said, brightening up with a smile as he snuck a fingertip lump of whipped cream to his lips. “Congratulations! And thank you. But how about we take this party inside to the nearest cafe? Before Donghae catches pneumonia and infects the rest of us.”
“Hear, hear!” Yoochun said, and pointed to a cafe across the intersection. “We have a room reserved over there.”
“Were you really surprised?” Changmin narrowed his gaze on Jaejoong as they prepared to cross the street hand in hand, the last of the group to crosswalk.
“Of course. You think I’d fake something like that?” Jaejoong winked and tugged Changmin down from the curb with a quick yank on his muffler fringe.
“One never knows with you.” Changmin rolled his eyes, even though he was trailing Jaejoong so Jaejoong probably missed the gesture.
“True!” Jaejoong hummed as they hurried up the walk to enter the cafe. “One never knows with me. But I know me. And I told you, so just trust me on this one.” He wrapped his long arms around Changmin’s narrow waist and smiled just in time for Yunho to snap a picture of their rosy cheeks. “Thanks, guys! This is the best birthday party I’ve ever had on a day that’s not my birthday!”
tagging softboys !
The messenger bag bounced at his heels. Jaejoong had overextended the strap yet again. Or else he hadn’t bothered to tighten it to a proper length that would facilitate walking. Changmin winced just watching the heavy bag slam into Jaejoong’s calves.
“Are we almost there yet?” Jaejoong’s whine evaporated into the cold air like a curl of steam dissipating. His complaints were getting weaker as his strides faltered.
It’s the small mercies I have to be grateful for, Changmin thought. He shrugged in response, the same answer Jaejoong had gotten to every question that morning. “I dunno.”
“That’s not fair. I know you know!” Jaejoong kicked at a yellow clump of grass poking up through the cracked sidewalk and stumbled forward a few steps.
Changmin did know, of course. But he wasn’t going to let slip any hints. That would only ruin the surprise, and somehow he had managed to keep today a secret even after weeks of planning and even though Junsu, being his nosy self, had figured out the plot.
“Really, where are we going? I want to know.” Jaejoong slipped his fingers into the fringe of Changmin’s scarf and tugged, choking him a little, just enough to make Changmin’s scalp prickle with annoyance and his veins buzz with anticipation for later.
“You’ll see when we get there,” Changmin hummed. The teasing note of his non-answer provoked a gratifying huff from Jaejoong. “Just be patient, just a little longer.”
“How much longer? Three hours? You’ve been saying that since we left the house! You keep saying that--”
Changmin stopped short just after crossing a narrow street, tugging Jaejoong to a stand still beside him. “Shh,” he hissed, a gloved finger pressed to his smiling lips.
“What is--!”
“Surprise!” a motley chorus of voices interrupted. Junsu, Heechul, Yoochun, Donghae, BoA, and Yunho jumped up from behind the bushes at the entrance to the park. BoA stepped forward, holding a cake as Heechul started to sing “Happy Birthday” in an off key as loud as he could.
Changmin wrapped his arms around Jaejoong, who started shivering with excitement and the cold before they made it halfway through the song. “Happy birthday, Hyung,” Changmin whispered against Jaejoong’s neck.
“You idiots!” Jaejoong sniffed before he blew out the single lit candle that the wind hadn’t already extinguished. “Whoever heard of throwing a party outdoors in the middle of February? Besides, my birthday was last month!”
“We know,” Heechul said loudly with a disgusted click of his tongue.
“This was the only way we could manage to surprise you,” Yoochun explained with a shrug, “to throw it after your birthday.”
“Are you surprised?” Donghae asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet with anticipation. Then he sneezed all over Yunho’s coat sleeve.
“Well yeah, it worked,” Jaejoong said, brightening up with a smile as he snuck a fingertip lump of whipped cream to his lips. “Congratulations! And thank you. But how about we take this party inside to the nearest cafe? Before Donghae catches pneumonia and infects the rest of us.”
“Hear, hear!” Yoochun said, and pointed to a cafe across the intersection. “We have a room reserved over there.”
“Were you really surprised?” Changmin narrowed his gaze on Jaejoong as they prepared to cross the street hand in hand, the last of the group to crosswalk.
“Of course. You think I’d fake something like that?” Jaejoong winked and tugged Changmin down from the curb with a quick yank on his muffler fringe.
“One never knows with you.” Changmin rolled his eyes, even though he was trailing Jaejoong so Jaejoong probably missed the gesture.
“True!” Jaejoong hummed as they hurried up the walk to enter the cafe. “One never knows with me. But I know me. And I told you, so just trust me on this one.” He wrapped his long arms around Changmin’s narrow waist and smiled just in time for Yunho to snap a picture of their rosy cheeks. “Thanks, guys! This is the best birthday party I’ve ever had on a day that’s not my birthday!”
tagging softboys !