To Sir, With Love; JaeChun; for 861264
To Sir, With Love
2040 words. PG-16.
- DBSK; Jaejoong/Yoochun.
author onew
summary When Yoochun opens the door to a stranger for the next two weeks, he starts missing the postman he's had since he was 20.
notes Supposedly for 861264 (this prompt), but I never managed to finish before the deadline. Also inspired by this prompt. For Serena goldi if she still wants this because I obviously fail at keeping up with fic challenge deadlines. Lyrics from Motion City Soundtrack's 'Stand Too Close'.
If I stand too close
I might fall in
But if I'm too far gone
I'll never win
And if you believe in me
I might just wanna spend
some time with you again
Jaejoong is the postman who brings him letters every Sunday - more like brings his phone bill just when he's sure he's spent all his money on everything he could possibly buy. For the past four years, this has been the scenario, and Yoochun already knows quite a number of things about Jaejoong. Jaejoong always places his wallet in his back pocket, his phone in his left. He gets a haircut every 25th of the month. The only brand he's ever worn for his jeans is Levi's; for his tops, Lacoste. For a postman, Jaejoong sure does splurge on his clothing, and Yoochun's partly grateful for this since he gets fashion inspiration from Jaejoong's get up most of the time.
So when Yoochun opens the door to a stranger for the next two weeks, he starts missing the postman he's had since he was 20. (And today, he's 20 and three-fourths.)
Yoochun is a songwriter and self-proclaimed genius when it comes to playing the piano. He gets some songs he's composed used for movie soundtracks twice or thrice a year, and the money he earns from that is enough to last him two years. Semi-annual royalties aside, he also earns from the occasional performing at Yunho's bar when he gets the strange urge to drive to the city. Otherwise, he's stuck inside his house, somewhere between the suburbs and the outlands.
He does get occasional visits from Yunho, though, who borrows books from him every so often, and Changmin who never forgets to bring him coffee. And oh, there's writer's block, too, which Changmin so graciously drags along when he comes over for a visit.
"There's a small gathering on Saturday, 8 p.m. Minho's been begging for a reunion ever since he graduated from university," Changmin tells Yoochun as he prepares coffee for the two of them. Yoochun just shrugs, replying with, "Do you honestly expect me to get out of my house for a reunion?"
"There's coffee."
"Mhmm."
"And champagne."
A small smile creeps to Yoochun's lips upon hearing the word 'champagne'. "I might reconsider. You should've said we were drinking earlier!" Changmin just shakes his head and plops on Yoochun's couch, opening the bag of Famous Amos he so grudgingly took out from his cookie stash back at home. "We're drinking only if you come, Park!" Changmin then calls out.
It's almost five in the afternoon when the doorbell rings, and Changmin's getting ready to go home. "Hold on, I'll get the door before I get your CD," Yoochun tells Changmin, pertaining to the Mozart CD Changmin came for (Changmin never comes over to just visit, really). When Yoochun opens the door, a young postman greets him - he's got a new letterboy.
"Letters at 5 p.m.? Talk about late. Where's Mr. Lee?" Yoochun asks the new postman. The postman doesn't answer at once. Yoochun takes note of the really nice watch on the postman's wrist, the Levi's jeans he's wearing and, "Is that an Armani?" The postman looks up for the first time, and Yoochun notices that he's wearing his hair blond. "I mean your shoes. They're nice." A small smile surfaces on the postman's lips.
"Mr. Lee's been promoted to Postmaster, so I'm taking over this area." The postman's hanging his head low again, checking the envelopes if he's missed something. "Ah, here," he then says, handing Yoochun the collection of envelopes in his hand. He bows to Yoochun and leaves without another word.
A few steps into his departure, he turns around and says, "I'm Jaejoong, sir. Jaejoong Kim. And I promise to be here earlier next time."
When Yoochun closes the door, unable to contain his laughter, he laughs and thinks, this could be a good song.
Yoochun forgets about the Mozart CD altogether.
The new postman - Jaejoong, if he remembers correctly - does arrive earlier the following week, bringing him a week's worth of letters, mostly bills. Yoochun notices he's still wearing Armani. This postman sure knows how to pick brands. "How can you afford all those?" Yoochun asks one time. Jaejoong looks around as if checking if anyone would hear whatever he will be saying. Yoochun does so, too.
"I'm actually rich. I just do this because I'm bored. But you're not supposed to know that," Jaejoong whispers, leaning in. "So sssh." Jaejoong places his index finger on his lips, then hands Yoochun the mail. He then bows like he normally does, turns around to leave.
But this time, he doesn't really walk away.
"I'm supposed to kill you, you know, now that you know I'm rich." Jaejoong's back is turned against Yoochun so Yoochun doesn't suppress the urge to smile. "Because you might take advantage of me." Yoochun chuckles.
"Jaejoong. Jaejoong, is it?" Jaejoong turns around and nods, head still hung low. Yoochun takes a deep breath. "I'm getting the feeling that you're the son of the owner Samsung and you're doing this because you actually want to do something and not just count money at home." Jaejoong nods again. Yoochun silently thanks the fact that he's already watched far too many movies.
"You're my postman, Jaejoong. When you're here, you're my postman who knows how to wear an Armani." Then Jaejoong possibly laughs the greatest laugh he could ever have.
That day, Yoochun invites Jaejoong inside for a drink (just coffee). The following day, Jaejoong invites himself inside for a drink (this time, wine).
The day they exchange mobile numbers is the day they before they start hanging out in the city. Jaejoong manages to convince Yoochun to get out of his house and actually have a social life. "I'll introduce you to a couple of friends," Jaejoong tells Yoochun as they drive to the bar that Jaejoong's planning to take him to. When they arrive, Yoochun becomes busy with greeting and smiling at people left and right.
He meets Heechul who's a bit too fixated on his cat, Jonghyun who does a Michael Jackson imitation after he's had his third shot of Tequilla (Jaejoong tells him that Jonghyun's never been good with alcohol), Hankyung who spurts out random Chinese everytime he takes a shot of Margarita, and Jinki who's doing pretty well with the vodka. "He's got the best alcohol tolerance in our bunch. Doesn't look like it, does it?" Yoochun just laughs.
He spends the next three hours talking to Jaejoong about writing songs and music and life, in general, and he spends the next three glasses of Absinthe wondering if he could kiss Jaejoong because Jaejoong's lips as small and pink and probably soft. But then Jaejoong is his postman and his friend and Jaejoong's talking about the future and building a giant supermarket that will be the biggest in all of Asia.
But then he's drunk.
"What would be a good name? I wonder..." And it happens all too quickly, him leaning in to kiss Jaejoong and Jaejoong almost falling off his seat. Jaejoong's lips are small and soft, and while Jaejoong has said in passing that he hasn't kissed anyone in while, it sure feels as if Jaejoong's been kissing people every second of his life, mastering it. Yoochun finds himself being drawn in all the more when Jaejoong licks the caverns of his mouth. Then there's the sloppy grazing of tongue against tongue and teeth. But their bodies align like this, when Yoochun's arms are on either side of Jaejoong and Jaejoong's just leaning against the wall, kissing the living nightlights out of him. When they part, all Jaejoong ever does is smile.
Yoochun drinks whatever Absinthe's left and smiles behind the tinted glass.
Soon enough, letters are not all that Jaejoong's bringing him anymore. Sometimes there's quality champagne, coffee, strawberries and banana cakes. Sometimes there are kisses just when Yoochun has opened the door and post-copulatory pancakes. Sometimes there's just Jaejoong and no mail at all. And the times he goes out with Jaejoong grows in increasingly alarmingly amounts, in which they normally hang out at a park late at night, alcohol in one hand and cigarette in the other. Jaejoong tastes so much better after a good smoke.
"So this is what they call a 'social life'," Yoochun says after a sharp intake of breath. Jaejoong chuckles beside him, saying, "Hello, stranger. Meet social life." Jaejoong extends his hand to Yoochun as if shaking his hand, meeting him for the first time. Jaejoong isn't normally the one to make the first move when it comes to things involving physical contact, but now he's the one offering his hand. Yoochun takes it, shaking it lightly. "Hello, social life. Nice to meet you."
On one of the many nights when Jaejoong falls asleep in his car as they drink their hearts out, Yoochun sends Changmin an SMS. "I'm out with Jaejoong again. The post guy, remember?" it reads. No more than ten seconds after, Changmin replies. "And you feel that it feels so right."
Yoochun never gets to send Changmin the "Damn you" in his Drafts folder.
He spends most of his days out with Jaejoong, and he's only home after five in the afternoon. He's getting used to this, this new routine. It's a good habit. "O hey, Changmin," Yoochun greets the caller as he locks the door behind him after waving Jaejoong goodbye. "Were the voice calls from you? I haven't checked yet. I just got home."
"I called you twice this morning to tell you about Yunho getting someone pregnant," Changmin says on the other end of the line. Yoochun raises an eyebrow at Changmin's statement. "Yunho can produce children? Really?" Yoochun replies. He expects Changmin to laugh, but Changmin never does.
"Have you been with him all day?" Changmin asks. "Your postman, Jaejoong. Have you been out with him all day?" Yoochun wants to say 'No, not all day. Just at the important times of the day.' Then Yoochun realizes Jaejoong's the only one who has ever had the ability to 'make him' willingly get out of his house for a drink or a walk in the park. "Maybe. Possibly," Yoochun then tells Changmin, and Changmin just sighs.
"He's changed you, Park." Yoochun hears the resolution in Changmin's voice. He also hears a trace of shock, a bit of excitement. "Are you in love?"
Yoochun hangs up.
When Yoochun tries avoiding Jaejoong, he only fails. Every single song he's written is of Jaejoong, every song he hears on the radio and TV shows his own. He spends the days he doesn't spend with Jaejoong cramped in his music room, trying to write a song. But nothing ever comes. So when Jaejoong comes back on Sunday for the mail like he always does, he tells Jaejoong flat out, "I can only write songs when I'm with you."
Yoochun only ever spaces out when he's with Jaejoong when he thinks about these things:
1. He's never had the chance to bring Jaejoong home. Jaejoong doesn't let him.
2. If he asks Jaejoong for his address, he might come off as a stalker.
3. He's a bit too infatuated (a whole lot in love).
The last letter he ever gets from Jaejoong is one that says "Dad says I should stop bringing the mail." Yoochun tries adjusting to the new scenario where his postman is not Jaejoong but an equally adorable kid. He never asks for the postman's name and the postman never tells. What ensues in the next few days in a silent receiving of letters, signing forms and courteous bows. Yoochun thinks Jaejoong could do better than to follow his father.
But the next two weeks are spent opening the door to the 'still new' postman.
"Where's Jaejoong?" Yoochun finally asks the new postman (whose name is 'Kim Junsu', he soon finds out) one day as he signs the receiving note stapled to his mail. "I wouldn't know, sir. I'm new. Who's Jaejoong, anyway?" replies Junsu as he rummages through the envelopes in his bag. "Ah sir, here's another one. Bye!" And Junsu leaves.
In the midst of bills and notices of disconnection, there lies a letter with no return address. When Yoochun opens it, he finds a note that says, "Sorry, the postal system is crappy," and an address possibly scribbled hastily. A key falls out.
Yoochun runs.
If I stand too close
I might fall in
But if I'm too far gone
I'll never win
And if you believe in me
I might just wanna spend
some time with you again *