Part 9: June 1 - June 5, 2014
**
A phone conversation:
June 02, 2014, 7:50 AM, Salem; June 02, 2014, 11:50 PM, Seoul
Jaejoong: Changmin, hey, Changmin. Are you awake?
Changmin: (groggily) Shit, Jaejoong-hyung, yeah. Whassit?
Jaejoong: --ah, fuck, bad timing? I can call back later.
Changmin: No, no, just, you know. Sleeping, is all. Think I'm awake now, though.
Jaejoong: Sorry, I know it's late over there, but I was in the bathroom and brushing my teeth and thinking and I had this huge thought.
Changmin: Mmm, huge Jaejoong thought. I'm assuming it's a really good one or I'm hanging up on you.
Jaejoong: It's really, really good, don't hang up!
Changmin: (rustling) Augh, okay, let's hear your epiphany, hyung.
Jaejoong: (brief pause) So, I never really thought seriously about it, what I'd be doing after the break-up. I mean, I'll always love singing but I don't think I could do it without the rest of you, and this road trip thing, it still feels a little surreal, you know? And I was brushing my teeth and--Changmin, do you wanna start a restaurant with me?
Changmin: (longer pause) Wow. You mean... an actual restaurant? Like Junsu's dad's?
Jaejoong: Yeah. Yeah, actual. What kind of wow is that? Is that a good wow? Or a what kind of drugs are the States feeding you wow?
Changmin: Um, it's. It's a wow, wow? This is pretty big, hyung. I mean--I want to do it, yes. But. Can we?
Jaejoong: We can figure it out, you're smart. This--this'll be a we thing, yeah?
Changmin: (deep, slow exhale) Yeah. Yeah, a we thing. Can't call it Soulfighters, though. (quiet laughter)
Jaejoong: (louder laughter) Foodfighters.
Changmin: Ugh, hyung, leave the puns to Junsu!
Jaejoong: I'll do what I want!
Changmin: (laughter slowly fades) So... we're really going to do this, then? You and me, hyung?
Jaejoong: Really really. Procedure and paperwork and Yunho cannot stop us.
Changmin: Let me handle Yunho-hyung. I can get him to spin in circles wearing a pink tutu, if I wanted.
Jaejoong: Have each of us wrapped around your finger, huh.
Changmin: If I were awake enough, I'd probably imitate that one song. The 'I got the power' one. But it's late.
Jaejoong: It's not late over here. I could do it for you.
Changmin: (laughter) But isn't it early? Yoochun might not be too happy with that for an alarm, hyung. You'll make him wet his pants.
Jaejoong: I bet you're dying for me to try it.
Changmin: Make sure you do it really loudly and screechy-like. I want to hear him scream.
Jaejoong: Sadist.
Changmin: Nah, I just like torturing him the best. He's special. (short pause) So, any ideas on what kind of restaurant, or are we just winging it?
Jaejoong: I was thinking something small. Homey, lots of warmth. You know me, flap flap, lots of winging.
Changmin: Mmm, yeah. Though, you know we're going to have one problem with that. Fans. I'm imagining lines that fill the sidewalks for miles.
Jaejoong: We can change our names and disguise ourselves. Wear moustaches. I'll be Mario and you'll be Luigi. It'll be Mario and Luigi's.
Changmin: (snort) If we name it that, we won't even have to go for disguises, hyung. Though I like the way you think, in terms of me being Luigi. Clearly, I am the taller, more handsome one.
Jaejoong: And modest. Don't forget modest.
Changmin: Very, very modest, yes. Maybe we could make it variety-themed. Uh, as far as food goes. A little Korean here, some Japanese and Chinese there. American?
Jaejoong: Definitely American. Definitely apple pie.
Changmin: (laughter) You and your apple pie. Have you found anything else you like, yet?
Jaejoong: Carney's burgers. You know, in that picture I sent you? I really liked it.
Changmin: Ohhh, yeah! They did look pretty good. I'll bet you didn't get the recipe, though, did you.
Jaejoong: I was too busy having explosions of yumminess in my mouth.
Changmin: Guess you didn't leave all your fail here, then. And stop teasing about yumminess. So mean to your dongsaeng.
Jaejoong: Soooo yummyyyy.
Changmin: (dramatic sigh) You do remember that you're twenty-nine years old, right?
Jaejoong: Wait, what? When did that happen?
Changmin: (pause) Yah, I'm hanging up now.
Jaejoong: You're bluffing.
Changmin: (imitation of a click, then dial tone)
Jaejoong: (silence, then fake sobbing)
Changmin: (another sigh) You're awful. At pretending to cry, I mean.
Jaejoong: Shut up, I deserve an Oscar for that.
Changmin: I can imagine the crowd booing you, now.
Jaejoong: I want to thank everyone who made this award possible, like Shim Changmin for his endless support.
Changmin: My love for you knows no boundaries, stopping not even at one-touching and brutal honesty.
Jaejoong: (laughter) I love you too, brat.
Changmin: (soft chuckle) I suppose that could have been a veiled 'I love you', yes.
Jaejoong: And I'm going to prove my returned love by letting you get some sleep tonight.
Changmin: Mmm, sleep. That does sound nice. I suppose it could also be seen as keeping your phone bill down, too, though. (snicker)
Jaejoong: My wallet gets so violated for you guys. Appreciate.
Changmin: My appreciation, let me show you it. (random beeps)
Jaejoong: (cracking up) What the hell, Changmin?
Changmin: That was the Symphony of a Dongsaeng's Love and Appreciation Via Telephone. It was also morse code for 'if I'm cranky in the morning, you're getting blamed'.
Jaejoong: Right, sorry, sorry. Get some rest, dongsaeng.
Changmin: Yeah, yeah. (laughter) Go give Yoochun-hyung that rude awakening. And record it, please. I could use a new ringtone.
Jaejoong: Sadist! Goodnight.
Changmin: Good morning, hyung.
**
June 02, 2014, 2:14 PM, Salem
Lil' Gypsy is this store a little north from downtown that Jaejoong has never heard of in his life. But there are headless mannequins, corsets, and a plastic pirate in the display window, so Jaejoong grabs Yoochun's elbow and tugs him inside enthusiastically without second thought.
The first thing they see is a giant, glittery Santa suit. "I love America," Jaejoong says.
Yoochun snorts and rolls his eyes. "That's what you said when you got to hug Cinderella, sang along to Rick Astley, and ate a burger as big as your face."
"And when you mixed up the words for chewing and jerking off," Jaejoong adds, distracted as he reconnects with his past life as a magpie. He makes his way to the counter of flashy vintage jewelry and tiaras. "That's what I said when that happened too."
"You just like bringing that up soooo much," Yoochun says defensively, following. Jaejoong hovers over the glass case and admires the goods while Yoochun stands sideways and leans his elbow on the surface. "But let's see you remember either from now on."
Jaejoong always takes the bait; he peels his eyes away from the shinies to poke Yoochun's chest and answer in English, smugly, "MASTURBATE."
Huh, he thinks a second later. That was kind of loud. And people are kind of staring. And Yoochun also looks kind of mortified as he covers his face with a hand.
"I hate you," Yoochun says lowly, muffled. "That was the wrong one and I hate you."
Jaejoong looks around and absorbs the situation. "Oops," is his conclusion.
"Oops? Not 'sorry, Yoochun, for telling you to jerk off in public'?" Yoochun looks at Jaejoong expectantly.
"Hang on." Jaejoong turns to their remaining audience first, which is divided between the morbidly curious and the horrified, and plasters on a sheepish smile as he waves. "I don't speak English!"
A loud and exasperated sigh comes from beside him and Jaejoong turns back in time to see Yoochun fall face-forward against the counter, arms extended above his head. He addresses the other customers again, "He's from Virginia."
People start to disperse after that, with a wave of enlightened whispering, as if accepting Yoochun's background as an explanation. Jaejoong wonders if Virginia is a state of Yoochun clones, or just a lot of monkeys. He also grabs onto the back of Yoochun's shirt to rescue him from the counter. "Sorry, Yoochun, for telling you to jerk off in public."
Yoochun's face has a big, exaggerated pout on it when he straightens. "I can't take you out anywhere," he says, pointing at Jaejoong emphatically.
"I bring color into your life," Jaejoong says. "Hey, costumes!"
Spinning around, Yoochun murmurs absently, "ooh," and walks over to what definitely is a naughty nurse outfit. Picking it up, he turns again and holds it out, one eye closed like he's imagining Jaejoong in it. He shakes his head after a moment and says, "No, I think you're more of the naughty housewife type."
Jaejoong makes an offended sound, except he's probably taking offense to the wrong thing, and marches over to snatch the outfit from Yoochun's hands. "Whatever, I could definitely pull off naughty nurse." He starts to put it back when his eyes chance on the greatest thing he's ever seen. Today, at least. "Yoochun. Yoochun."
Yoochun follows his line of sight. "Wha -- ...No. No, no, no, no, NO." Then he grabs Jaejoong's arm firmly and tries to drag him away, but Jaejoong's already a goner.
"Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES." Jaejoong grabs The Greatest Thing He's Ever Seen with the hand Yoochun isn't cutting off the circulation to. What follows is a two minute scuffle in the middle of the store, wherein Jaejoong bodily shoves Yoochun into a dressing room while shouting, "Do it for me! Do it for Virginia!" and tries to claw Yoochun's hands away from where they're leaving nail marks in the wood. Yoochun's protests and threats are cut off once Jaejoong shuts the door in his face, and adds to prove his good intentions, "I love you!"
He turns and slumps back against the door victoriously, waving again at the audience reunion, smile faltering only slightly when Yoochun kicks his ankle from underneath the door.
June 02, 2014, 2:18 PM, Salem
"I'm not going to do it. There's no way. Nothing. Let me out."
"It's just a costume! What you wear does not define you."
"It's not just a costume! This is -- this is totally racial profiling."
"Hey, I'm not racist! My best friend's a monkey."
"Species profiling!"
"Just put it on! It's not like I'm asking you to kill someone or relive your old haircuts or anything."
"... Why are you grouping my old haircuts with homicide?"
"Human homicide, hair homicide, both kind of horrifying to watch. Are you a gorilla yet?"
"No. Being a gorilla is not my American dream."
"My American dream has seniority and my American dream is to see you being a gorilla."
"I feel like mass public humiliation is just not part of the road tripping experience."
"... Fine, okay. Does your misery love company?"
"What kind of company are we talking about?"
"I spy... a nun outfit?"
"Too blasphemous."
"Cowboy."
"Too normal."
"That tiger that hangs out with that bear."
"We're definitely not doing a furries theme."
"Uh, this pink thing. Skirt. It has a dog on it."
"Hold on, let me jump up and - ugh - see. ... Wear it with the bra next to it and it's a deal."
"Wait, just the bra? What the hell, Yoochun."
"With, I said with! Oh my god."
"... That's really gonna clash, you know."
"Reminding you that no matter what you wear, you're going to be standing next to a gorilla."
"At least you'll be a male gorilla. An asexual gorilla? Does the costume have genitalia?"
"... Can we discuss this later?"
"I know you're in a hurry to see me in a bra, but you don't need to be so obvious."
"Sorry, I need new wet dream material."
"Crabs not enough for you anymore?"
"Cross-dress or get a new STD, Jae. Both if you're feeling ambitious."
"Um, Yoochun, people are looking at me weird. I don't think we can ever come to this state again."
"Can't believe it's taken you ten years and five thousand places to realize people look at you weird."
"Yeah, well. At least I'm not a gorilla without a dick."
"Shut up and get the fuck in here."
**
**
June 02, 2014, 2:25 PM, Salem
Yoochun kind of looks smug in the gorilla suit, after he goes through the phases of self-hatred and Jaejoong-hatred. Jaejoong supposes this might be because the one good thing about wearing a gorilla suit is that no one is able to see your face.
"Ready, Jaejunko?" Yoochun lilts, hand on the doorknob, and Jaejoong feels slightly better about being half naked and in a poodle skirt because jesus christ, Yoochun's talking to him as a gorilla.
"You're a gorilla," he feels the need to point out--rub it in, establish himself as higher on the foodchain of costumes.
A rubbery paw/hand lands on Jaejoong's chest and disappears halfway into the leather bra he somehow squirmed into. Jaejoong makes a kind of embarrassing noise. "And you're really flat," the gorilla replies.
Jaejoong smacks Yoochun away, the opposite of ladylike. "Look, I'm not into bestiality. We just weren't made to be."
Yoochun laughs at him and turns the knob. "After you, miss," he says as he pushes the door open, then holds his free hand out for Jaejoong. Jaejoong looks at it, and at Yoochun's gorilla face, and back at Yoochun's gorilla paw, and tries not to laugh in his face again, because of course Yoochun's a fucking gentleman gorilla. He takes Yoochun's hand anyway, holding it high and blatantly over his chest like the mass of black fur is going to hide his boobless bra.
The atmosphere of the store feels like it's gone from anxious to bustling the second they step out, and Jaejoong wonders if everyone had stuck around just to see this. From beside him, Yoochun announces under his breath, "We are officially a freak show."
"You mean a circus," Jaejoong whispers, looking around for any store employees calling security. This is very awkward. "Freak shows don't have animals."
Yoochun turns to him. "Are you including yourself in that?"
"I'm just here to hold your leash," Jaejoong retorts.
"Gorillas don't use leashes." And Yoochun sounds totally serious. Jaejoong's serious too.
"Gorillas who are actually Yoochun use whatever I say they do."
Yoochun sticks a finger that's about as big as a hot dog in Jaejoong's face. Jaejoong starts to think about hot dog dildos, and immediately rewinds because he's always imagined that, if his brain were to short-circuit and die, it'd happen in a classier way. "I'm totally reporting you to the humane society after this is all over," says Yoochun.
"I'm really happy to see you embracing your intimate connection with primates," Jaejoong says, crossing his arms over his chest. They bump into nonexistent breasts. This will never not be very awkward.
Yoochun only gets half a word out when two frail, old women suddenly appear before them wearing church hats so big that Jaejoong has to lean to the side to even see their eyes. They're saying something, but Jaejoong has no idea what and Yoochun's no help because his head is encased within a giant gorilla's.
One of the old ladies pulls out a camera. This cannot end well.
The other old lady, who smells a little like the chewable and grape-flavored cold medicine that Jaejoong hated as a kid, says something to them with an accent like the ones that are always in their cowboy movie marathons. She smiles up at them both as she stands in between them. Jaejoong smiles back dumbly.
"Yoochunwhat'sgoingon."
"Uh," is Yoochun's answer. If the old lady wasn't linking her arms through theirs and making Jaejoong expose his imaginary bosom, he'd reach over and smack the back of Yoochun's head for that craptastic response. Yoochun's next attempt does nothing to quell the urge. "Okay, she said something about cheese."
The old lady with the camera makes clapping gestures that Jaejoong guesses mean 'stand closer, closer!' He shuffles closer on autopilot before realizing that things have just shot up exponentially on the scale of awkward. "Yoochun," he hisses. "Yoochun, I think we're a tourist attraction."
"What? No. No, that's not -- I mean. We're tourists. Tourists can't be tourist attractions. If we were a tourist attraction, there'd be--" The old lady says something about the old hens back home. Jaejoong doesn't understand what chickens have anything to do with this, but apparently Yoochun isn't totally hopeless at the English language. "... Shit. Shiiiiiiiiit."
The second old lady snaps a picture and switches places with the first. Her medicine smell is cherry. Jaejoong just knows this is going to become his new substitute for showing-up-at-work-naked nightmares. He reverts back to primal instincts: makes a victory sign and poses for the camera.
Out the corner of his eye, he sees Yoochun's gorilla head tilt in a way that either means 'hey, you're slipping out again' or 'what the hell are you doing, you idiot'. He's fairly sure it's the latter, but then Yoochun gets smacked on the head for not looking at the camera and Jaejoong doesn't get another chance to figure it out for sure. He just hopes Yoochun's picking up on the 'you're a gorilla' telepathic message that he's sending loudly in response.
By the time the old ladies are done and have retreated to cluck over their pictures together, Jaejoong feels inexplicably dirty. "I feel--"
"--inexplicably dirty?"
"Yeah."
Yoochun nods sympathetically and pats his head. He's already so disturbed by everything that he thinks, hey, sure, Yoochun can touch my hair with that gross paw that's been god knows where. "Shit, I can't take it anymore," Yoochun complains, and reaches up to take the headpiece off. "It's fucking hot in this thing." Jaejoong's trauma has made him merciful, so he doesn't say anything about how there is nothing hot about Yoochun in a gorilla suit because it's more like a visual cold shower.
"So," Jaejoong says conversationally, and adjusts his bra.
Yoochun doesn't respond right away. When he does, it's to say, "Did you just...?"
Jaejoong isn't following. "Did I just what?"
"Um." Yoochun frowns, furrows his brow, then finally shakes his head. "I think I'm getting heatstroke."
"Oh." Jaejoong feels kind of bad, because he's the one who stuck Yoochun in a gorilla suit. Then he remembers what he's wearing, and a lot of the guilt goes away. He grabs Yoochun's gorilla arm anyway. It smells like a grape-cherry mutant lovechild. "Clothes are that way."
Yoochun automatically turns around and starts leading them back into the dressing room, spinning the gorilla head on his other hand idly. It's a little disturbing to watch, because it's starting to look like Yoochun's head is the part that doesn't belong, instead of the gorilla suit.
Once they're safely hidden from any more public humiliation, Jaejoong announces, "Okay, help me take off my bra."
Yoochun blinks at him, like he isn't sure where he is for a second, then says, "I really hope no one out there understands Korean," as he prods Jaejoong's shoulder with a furry elbow to get him to turn around.
"Asking you to take off my bra is not the worst thing I've said today," Jaejoong says reasonably, facing the mirror and watching Yoochun feel him up while in half-man, half-gorilla limbo.
"The fact that that's true says everything about our non-existent sanity," Yoochun replies distractedly, pulling and tugging and generally jerking Jaejoong around more than he is removing the bra. Then he stops. The bra is still on. "Huh," he says, in a tone that Jaejoong last heard when Yoochun stuck a bulk pack of Peeps in the microwave. "That's interesting."
"Why do I still have my bra on?" Jaejoong asks, and stubbornly does not think about how he's been calling it his bra.
"Um," Yoochun offers, taking a deep breath, "because it won't come off?"
Jaejoong tries to twist around, which doesn't help with anything except creating the dog-chasing-own-tail effect. "You're Park-fucking-Yoochun, don't you know how to take off a bra?" There are two things he notices after he stops talking. One, that Yoochun doesn't look very offended, and two, Yoochun's arm is now around him in a half-hug. He's being half-hugged by a gorilla.
"Also. My fur is stuck."
Jaejoong waits patiently for the ground to either swallow him whole or ambush Yoochun with a really nasty mudslide made entirely of rotten bananas. When it doesn't do either, and they both come out of the next ten seconds alive, he says, "Fuck. Are you fucking kidding."
"Is that a rhetorical question?" Yoochun asks, then follows up immediately with, "Don't eat me."
Jaejoong snaps his teeth at Yoochun, trying violently to wiggle out of the hug, only the more he wiggles, the worse it gets, and he's getting medicine-scented fur shoved in his face. "Mmmfmphng," he swears.
"Ohhhhhgodthisisawkward." Jaejoong frees his face enough to look up and see Yoochun's head tilted back.
"What are you doing?"
"Trying not to look at your non-existent cleavage!"
Jaejoong can't believe Yoochun's being all noble now. "Your paw is caught on my bra!"
Yoochun sputters defensively, "That wasn't on purpose! Not the same thing at all!"
"Just, motheroffuckinggod--" Jaejoong yanks away from Yoochun's paw, hard. Three things happen at once: Yoochun's paw is freed from Jaejoong's bra, Jaejoong is freed from the human-gorilla pretzel he and Yoochun have worked their way into, and Jaejoong's bra is freed of its functionability.
Shit, Jaejoong thinks.
"Shit," Jaejoong says.
They both stare at the bra now laying on the floor. "I don't think it looked like that before you put it on," Yoochun supplies unhelpfully.
"It was really badly made," Jaejoong says lamely.
"I think you weren't lesbian enough for it and it got angry."
Jaejoong picks up the bra and hits Yoochun across the face with it.
**
**
June 02, 2014, 3:32PM
It turns out Lil' Gypsy has a 'break it, buy it' policy, and neither Jaejoong nor Yoochun are smooth enough talkers in English to get out of it, especially not when their names according to everyone else in the store may as well be Decade-Confused Crossdresser and Gorilla. Jaejoong doesn't know how to explain to the manager that bras Park Yoochun can't take off shouldn't count as bras, and Yoochun just looks like he wants to get out of there as fast as possible.
"This is so not necessary," Jaejoong says later, glaring at where the bra's hanging from the rearview mirror. "This is the opposite of necessary."
After they had gotten in the car, Yoochun turned traitorous on him, teasing him about his classy purchase. "It'll be a nice souvenir to show off when we eventually get back home."
"Shut up, bananaslut." It's been fifteen minutes and Jaejoong's running out of monkey names to call Yoochun. Yoochun laughs, his response for the past five primate-related insults, and it continues to do nothing for Jaejoong's pride and dignity.
"If I'm a slut for bananas and you're the one that got stripped, does that make you a fruit?"
"I'm not talking to you anymore, apehole," Jaejoong growls.
Yoochun turns into the parking garage of their hotel. "That's great. The -- sorry. Your. Your bra is still staying."
Jaejoong ditches the monkey names (though he can't resist saying, "chimpdick," under his breath) and rolls out the big guns, aka his cellphone.
Searching for an empty spot, Yoochun points a finger in Jaejoong's direction. "You are a bastard, I hope you know. If you send that to Changmin or Junsu or both, I will smother you in your sleep."
Jaejoong holds up his cellphone to show off the paparazzi photo he took of Yoochun in the dressing room. "If you're not too busy curling into a fetal ball of humiliation," he says.
"I was physically forced into it!" Yoochun argues, parking the car. "You, on the other hand, put up no fight."
"Oh, whoops, fingers slipped."
Yoochun lunges for him immediately. "You are such an ass," he grunts, swiping at Jaejoong's phone as Jaejoong holds it out of reach. "I hope those old ladies spread your slutty bra and skirt outfit all over the internet!"
"Whatever, baboonface," Jaejoong says loudly. "Go masturbate into my leather C cups."
"Freak." Yoochun gives him a really painful noogie. "You want me to, don't you? If I do that, you'll start wearing it everywhere and refuse to take it off forever."
"Don't project your secret fantasies onto me!" Jaejoong shouts into Yoochun's shirt. It comes out sounding more like, "dnslhskfivdslkemskd." His hand smacks into the car horn as he flails. Yoochun sucks monkey butt. But right now Changmin and Junsu and Yunho are receiving a picture of Yoochun devolved into a gorilla and wearing a broken leather bra on his head, captioned with when monkeys go wild, and Jaejoong thinks that evens the score a little.
**
June 03, 2014, 2:06 PM, Seoul
It's 2:06 PM on a Tuesday afternoon when Changmin gets the idea. He's in the middle of Skullcrusher Mountain, relaxed on the couch after class and thinking of Jaejoong and Yoochun, wondering where they are now and if they're making exciting plans for Yoochun's birthday. They'd probably really like this song. It'd be nice to listen to on a long drive.
Immediately he sits up, grinning, and with his iPod in hand, runs to find Yunho. "Yah! Hyung!" he calls from the hallway, not sure exactly where Yunho is. "Where are you?"
"Workroom," Yunho calls back, and Changmin walks into the room to find Yunho in front of the keyboard, though he doesn't actually have any music in front of him.
"Working on...?" Changmin asks, quirking his lips. He doesn't give Yunho a chance to answer, waving his iPod excitedly. "So, you're going to help me make another mix for Jaejoong and Yoochun. Junsu made one so now it's our turn."
Yunho turns around on the stool to smile at Changmin, nodding. "Good idea," he replies.
Changmin nods. "Of course. It was me with the idea, after all," he teases, laughing, then adds seriously while pointing at Yunho with his iPod, "Track number one: Skullcrusher Mountain."
Yunho blinks at him, says, "Don't know it," tilting his head in with a curious expression that Changmin absently notes is absolutely adorable. Despite Yunho being older and wis-- okay, maybe not much wiser.
Clearing his odd bout of random thoughts, Changmin grins and walks over to the computer, hooking up his iPod. He tugs loose the cord that attaches the headphones so Yunho can actually hear the song, clicks the mouse a couple of times and plays it, turning to explain the lyrics, which he'd looked up when he first heard the song.
Yunho starts laughing at 'secret lair' and doesn't stop until the song's long over. Changmin takes this as a good sign and maybe a compliment too, but he doesn't actually say that. He does say, however, "So, track number one is a go. Now we need ten or so more and some talk tracks."
Yunho says, "I see you've got this all planned out," still snickering a bit.
Changmin smirks, sitting down in the computer chair. "Not really. Need songs, first," he says, clicking away at the computer mouse, opening programs. "Got any in mind?" He hears the sound of Yunho standing, footsteps crossing the room, and doesn't startle when an arm drapes around his shoulders.
"Hmm," Yunho says, reaching over to put his hand on top of Changmin's on the mouse and scrolling down to 'Holding out for a Hero'.
Changmin hums lightly, trying to remember the song. He steals back clicking rights and plays it, nodding once he recognizes it. "I like that, yeah," he says, snickering in amusement.
"Think Jaejoong'll like it too?" Yunho asks, and Changmin doesn't have to turn around to know that he's grinning.
"I think he'll love it." Changmin leans into Yunho a little, clicks his tongue absently as he scrolls along the music, skimming, then laughs gleefully. "Hyung, hyung, we have to put a Super Junior song on here. Jaejoong'll shit." He covers his mouth with the back of his hand, shaking with his laughter, and when he recovers, sings, "Sunny, Sunny, Sunny, I love you, I neeeeeed you."
Yunho joins in, then stops mid-phrase, says thoughtfully, "You know, we sing it better than they do."
Changmin howls with more laughter, dropping his head. He can feel Yunho laughing too, a gentle rumble against his back. "Precious and tall Homin couple version," he says, between giggles.
He feels Yunho lean harder against his back, Yunho's other arm wrapping around his shoulders as well in a hug. "'M sure Jaejoong and Yoochun'll appreciate our efforts for them!"
Changmin's laughter dies down a little after that, the odd chuckle or two still escaping him as he scrolls down the list. "Make sure you stop me if you see anything you like," he warns.
Yunho says, "Yeah," and they're quiet for a minute, until Yunho reaches over to point at the screen. "That one?" he asks, and Changmin's pretty sure he's not imagining the sheepishness in Yunho's voice.
Changmin smiles softly and double clicks it, letting it play. Most of the songs he doesn't remember right off the bat, especially the English ones, but after hearing quite a bit of it, he vaguely recalls translations. "Ahhh, ever the sap, hyung," he says, gently teasing.
"I try," Yunho replies, and then there's a soft kiss to Changmin's temple. He smiles, the gesture sweet and something Changmin's grown accustomed to throughout the years, though he'd never outright admit it.
"Don't even need to try," he says in return, laughing when Yunho swats at his shoulder, far lighter than Jaejoong would have.
Yunho tilts his head against Changmin's again, humming thoughtfully. "Think we could get Junsu to sing his debut song for this? Or Yoochun's song?"
Changmin nods, already making a mental note to tackle Junsu the moment he comes in to ask. "Yoochun's song, definitely," he says, grinning. "Yoochun'll love it."
There's a nod Changmin feels, the light stubble from maybe missing a day of shaving coarse against the skin of his temple, and Yunho says, "He really will. So. What else're we putting on?"
Changmin grins and maneuvers himself around to get comfortable. "Well, hyung. Between the five of us, we have over 10,000 songs on here. I think we can find plenty to put on this mix." He leans back enough to catch Yunho's light grimace and cackles. "Let's get started," he sing-songs.
**
A tape of notes:
June 03, 2014, 3:43 PM, Seoul
"Tuesday, June 3rd. Note set number 23.
Man, I wish I hadn't started numbering these things. But I can't stop now that I have, so, whatever. Anyway. Today's notes deal with cross contamination and how it's really bad. Really, really bad. So bad that it spells imminent death - well, okay, not imminent death but you still get imminent diarrhea and vomiting at least. Which is pretty much like imminent death. They both suck. Yoochun-hyung hogged the bathroom for hours the one time he had it.
UGH. So, cross contamination is the contaminating of foods - obviously - such as meats and vegetables. Rule number one, never cut your veggies on the same cutting board you just cut meat on. Again, really bad and leads to imminent nasty things.
Cross contamination is a key factor in food borne illness, or for those less smart than me, food poisoning. Although, I don't think I count, since I'll be the only one listening to this. But anyway. It has four common sources, which are food, people, equipment and work surfaces. Blah, blah, blah, God, I hate this. Maybe if Junsu-hyung were home I could get him to help me. We could sing it or something. Actually, that's a really good idea. I may have to do that.
OKAY. BACK TO WORK.
Fuck, I can't take this. I have to get it out. Maybe then I can finally get these stupid notes done and go do fun things.
Shit.
I don't even know where to start. I... I used to think about these things back in the beginning. I think maybe it started with Jaejoong-hyung, but I can't be sure. At first I thought it was because of how girlish he looked, but I started to realize he was just... beautiful no matter what. Visual shock, indeed. And I think maybe it's the restaurant thing that's got me thinking about all of this again. Jaejoongie and me. We thing. I've tried not to think about it. It's not professional, after all. Or. It wasn't. We're not Dongbangshinki anymore...
And. And then there's Yunho-hyung. He's... he's caring and. He makes me feel safe. Even now, after ten years of it, every time he wraps his arms around me I get this feeling in the pit of my stomach and I don't know if it's love or lust or... nerves, maybe. I don't try to delude myself that any of them might care for me the way I care for them. I'm not even sure what my feelings are. Mixtures of... of brotherly love and maybe something more. God, I hope Yunho's not standing outside the door right now. I'll die of embarrassment if he is.
But it's not just limited to Yunho and Jaejoong. It's. It's all of them. Junsu-hyung with his sweetness and Yoochun-hyung with his soulfulness, too. I feel like maybe I'm being selfish with that. Most people only fall in love--
Wait. Am I in love? I mean. I know I love them. But... is it more? Am I in love? Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I don't know.
Cross contamination: key factor in love."
**
**
Another note from the authors: Once again, don't forget to click on the CD tracklist for song downloads and to find out what went on in the talk tracks. :)
Edit: Mix zip, uploaded by h_r_h_kittie