All It Ever Was [1/2]
Title: All It Ever Was: The Side Story [1/2]
Author: FloweryMisha
Pairing: KrisHo
Warning: BoyxBoy love. Enough said.
Summary: Junmyeon changed his mind about arranged marriage the minute he met Yifan.
Author's Note: PLEASE, NO TRANSLATIONS ALLOWED ;;;;
True love doesn’t need proof.
The eyes told what heart felt.
--Toba Beta
[All They Ever Wanted]
Junmyeon heard a lot of bad things about arranged marriage.
He was thirteen years old when he first heard the term.
His family had held monthly gathering in his house and most of his older cousins came. The boys didn’t really pay attention to Junmyeon because of the age gap, but the girls did. They would usually team up in a corner after snatching drinks and cookies to exchange gossips and stories of their lives. Even though they were family, they didn’t spend a lot of time together so the gathering was an opportunity for them to catch up.
Junmyeon gasped as Boa grabbed his hand and dragged him into the corner, away from their parents, muttering something along the lines of ‘too young to be with the old folks’.
Soon enough, she and Taeyeon were drowned in soft drinks and cakes. Taeyeon popped more cookies into her mouth as she grimly told the older girl that there was a possibility she would be ‘forced to be a man’s slave and carry his child’. Boa cringed in horror because Taeyeon was fifteen and she was eighteen-that meant if it ever happened, she was going to be first. Boa gulped the rest of her drink and sobbed in desperation-why couldn’t they just leave them alone?
But maybe it was the price for being freaking rich.
Junmyeon bemusedly stared at the two girls as they continued to exchange dramatic sighs and thoughtful comments. Boa added something about ‘what would she do if he was a cheater’ or ‘what would happen if there was no spark whatsoever’ and Taeyeon hung her head dejectedly, not knowing what to say. Junmyeon swallowed thickly and played with the hem of his shirt.
Taeyeon noticed his awkwardness and patted his head affectionately.
“Find your own happiness, Junmyeonie.”
He was a bit too young to understand. But whatever it was, arranged marriage was definitely something to be avoided in his life.
Junmyeon was so determined to not going to let his parents arranged such thing for him and as he grew older, he desperately tried to establish an intimate relationship. He tried and he tried and oh he tried, but it was when he graduated from high school that he realized he wasn’t interested in girls. Junmyeon couldn’t feel anything even when his friends told him that he was lucky to have her because she was cute and pretty and fashionable and perfect for him and all that jazz.
Maybe this is what Boa-noona meant by not having a spark whatsoever...?
It somehow scared him because as far as he knew, even heterosexual relationships had a lot of problems. Did it mean same sex relationship was better? Or was it even worse...?
Junmyeon never really found out because he was too scared to try.
When he turned seventeen, Boa got married to a fine, young man. To think that she was just twenty two at that moment... Everyone was happy for her because she was young and pretty and lucky enough to marry someone from a good family-not forgetting to mention wealthy. They all complimented how Boa looked gorgeous in the wedding dress and drowned in happiness.
But Junmyeon didn’t think he would ever forget her expression.
Sure, her spouse was handsome and he was the perfect candidate to marry to, but it was clear that his cousin was unhappy. Boa had to force herself to smile throughout the long process of the wedding and choked when they had to exchanged vows. Junmyeon found himself clutching his chest the whole time, as if he could feel what she felt. Taeyeon patted his back to calm him down, but it was obvious that she wasn’t calm herself. Junmyeon overheard the words she uttered under her breath and they sounded like ‘You’re happy with Jes. This isn’t going to happen to you.’
Junmyeon’s lips trembled.
What was the use of marriage if it caused one to be unhappy?
Junmyeon didn’t want to be unhappy...
So he searched for a boyfriend who he could possibly loved. Someone who could give him all the comfort he needed. Someone who would protect him from harm. Someone, who could be his reason why he wanted no arranged marriage. Because he was in a relationship and he was happy.
But it was hard because Junmyeon got scared easily.
Everytime someone tried to get close to him, Junmyeon would always back away. Everytime someone tried to invade his personal space, Junmyeon would push him away. It happened endlessly like a cycle that one day, Kyungsoo just decided to snap at him. Junmyeon was aghast because Kyungsoo had been his close friend since high school and not even once the doe eyed male ever scolded him.
“Nothing’s going to happen if you’re not willing to try,” Kyungsoo growled in irritation. “You want to be happy, right?”
Junmyeon didn’t answer in a long time before nodding mutely.
Yeah, he wanted to be happy...
“Then you have to try, Hyung.”
Kyungsoo gave him a firm stare and squeezed Junmyeon’s shoulder lightly.
“You have to try."
***
Happiness was probably the keyword why Junmyeon accepted Cho Kyuhyun’s feelings.
He didn’t really know why he chose Kyuhyun of all people.
An hour after he accepted the confession, Junmyeon half regretted it. He wasn’t even sure of his own feelings. It seemed rushed and he was scared what Kyuhyun had for him was temporary, but as their relationship evolved from weeks to months, Junmyeon became relaxed and dismissed the irrational thought. Kyuhyun was sweet. The male was handsome, he had a kind heart and most of all, he had a wealthy family.
Maybe he was the one.
When Junmyeon told his mother that he was dating the heir of Cho family, she beamed happily at him. And for the first time in his life, he felt extremely relieved. Relieved for the fact that there was a chance he wasn’t going to have an arranged marriage. Relieved for the fact that he could marry Kyuhyun and live happily ever after.
Except for the fact that he had nothing for Kyuhyun.
Junmyeon tried to build his feelings for the older male. He tried a bit too hard and his acting sucked whenever he bragged about his boyfriend. Junmyeon felt like he was wearing a mask, a terrible one at that. Kyungsoo would always smile at him whenever Junmyeon complimented small things about Kyuhyun, but his eyes told him that he didn’t want him to pretend.
“You’re not that happy,” Kyungsoo once said. “You don’t pretend to be happy, Hyung.”
And he knew Kyungsoo was right.
He was unhappy.
But his relationship with Kyuhyun was much better than to marry someone he knew nothing of.
When the male turned nineteen, Boa signed the divorce paper with her husband. It didn’t come as a shock for Junmyeon, but their parents were outraged. To think that their marriage only lasted for two years. They didn’t have children and both families were rich, so neither of them bothered about the money. Really, money was the last thing they should be worried about-the social status always came first.
A few months after that, Junmyeon found out that Taeyeon had also left to be with Jessica. She decided to leave the family to be with her girlfriend, so she wouldn’t have to go through what Boa went through. Clearly both Boa and Taeyeon weren’t happy with the way they lived. It was like everything had been decided for them and all they needed to do was just to follow. It was natural to want to break the tradition.
That was why Junmyeon tried to hold on. He still did his best to love Kyuhyun and enchanted the reason why he held on repeatedly to himself like a mantra. As long as he and Kyuhyun didn’t break up, things wouldn’t be disastrous. Kyuhyun was nice.
Kyuhyun was the one...right?
But maybe, it was too soon for Junmyeon to think that way.
“You’re marrying the heir of the Wu family next year, Junmyeon-ah.”
Junmyeon weakly dropped his spoon onto the napkin beside his plate.
The conversation happened casually at lunch. His mother’s tone was so flat like it was nothing big, like Junmyeon was just going to be away for picnic.
“B-but...” The fair skinned male managed to gather his voice after moments of suffocating silence. “But Umma, I’m dating-“
“Break it off with Kyuhyun,” she said nonchalantly like, again, it wasn’t a hard thing to do. “The Cho family is nice and it’s such a shame, to be honest...but Yifan needs you more. I met his mother at the restaurant last night. It’s been a while since I last saw her...her husband just passed away recently and everything has been tough. We talked about it and if you must know, I’m more than happy to let you go to the Wu family. She’s a really nice person.”
Yifan.
It’s such a strange name...
What if I don’t love him, Umma?
“I’m sure Kyuhyun will understand,” she said softly. “This kind of thing happens a lot in our environment. It’s unavoidable.”
Junmyeon opened his mouth to stutter more, but the way his mother resumed eating and avoided his gaze showed that she didn’t want the conversation to be continued. He choked back a sob and placed a hand on his mouth.
He couldn’t help but let the tears streamed down his cheeks.
Junmyeon felt helpless, but there was nothing he could do.
***
Junmyeon didn’t know since when he had a feeling it wasn’t going to last between him and Kyuhyun.
Sure, they didn’t have a lot of things in common and sometimes Junmyeon wondered why they could stand each other, but people always said that it was better to be in a relationship with someone that was the opposite of you. If the saying was true, then wasn’t it supposed to work out between them?
Junmyeon was quiet. Kyuhyun was lively. Junmyeon disliked suprises. Kyuhyun was the prankster. Junmyeon wasn’t into alcohol. Kyuhyun gulped down a pitcher of beer like it was plain water.
They had a lot of differences, in fact, there were too many. But Junmyeon was just too scared to admit it. He was afraid if he and Kyuhyun broke up, his mother would take it as an opportunity to pair him with someone-moreover, a stranger. That was why he held on to the fragile relationship for a whole year.
It wasn’t supposed to be hard.
All Junmyeon had to do was just to put on a smile and tell Kyuhyun that it was over. That he needed to marry someone else. That maybe, just maybe, Kyuhyun would be able to find someone else. Maybe he would cry. Maybe Kyuhyun would cry. Maybe they would stumble upon the mushy situation and they would feel awkward to suppress the urge to hide the tears in public. Maybe Kyuhyun would beg for him to decline.
A lot of ‘maybe’s swam through Junmyeon’s mind. Unfortunately, there were no ‘what if’s.
What if Kyuhyun doesn’t mind?
“Sure,” his boyfriend shrugged when Junmyeon informed him the (shocking) news. “It can’t be helped...if that’s what your mother wants.”
Unlike him, Kyuhyun had no trouble letting him go.
Junmyeon stared in disbelief. “S-sure...?”
Is that all you have to say...?
“Yeah.”
Junmyeon’s mind went blank and he had a hard time processing what his boyfriend-make that an ex boyfriend-just said.
Kyuhyun took a sip of his cold drink and looked away thoughtfully. The male didn’t even look troubled at all, like it was all right. Like what they had was not important. Like the past 365 days meant nothing to him.
“There’s nothing we can do about it.”
Yes, we can. We can run or we can confront them about it.
“It’s your life.”
Someone else decides everything for me-how is that even called a life?
“Besides, you have to admit that our relationship is pretty dull...” Kyuhyun smiled apologetically and placed a hand on top of Junmyeon’s. “But...but I guess if you don’t want to give in to the plan, we could-“
It’s too late.
“I-I don’t want to disobey my parents,” Junmyeon intercepted with a cracked voice.
Why didn’t you fight for me?
“Oh,” Kyuhyun pulled his hand away offhandedly and Junmyeon wondered if his words earlier were just plain courtesy. “I hope you’re happy then, Junmyeon-ah.”
Junmyeon wanted to retort that he would, but he didn’t have the courage to. Instead he took a deep breath to calm down and nodded.
“Thank you, Hyung...”
***
Junmyeon didn’t have the slightest clue of Yifan’s appearance.
His mother refused to give him even a glimpse of the pictures because apparently ‘the wedding would still go on even if you think lowly of him’. Junmyeon tried to think positive-that Yifan was a great guy, because surely his mother wouldn’t want him to be with someone that wasn’t worth it. His mother gave him Yifan’s number but up until that day, Junmyeon didn’t have the courage to contact the other male first.
After several days of making excuses why he hadn’t called Yifan (But wasn’t he supposed to call me first? Junmyeon helplessly thought), his mother finally sent him over to the Wu family’s house. What made it worse was that he was alone. Junmyeon wanted to whine and protest and beg because why the house for the first meeting? It should be someplace else-someplace crowded like the restaurant, cafe or mall. What if things went awkward and he couldn’t escape? What if-
Junmyeon fell silent under his mother’s glare and reluctantly obeyed.
Wu family’s house it was, then.
The minute he arrived, he realized that ‘house’ was an understatement. It was practically a mansion. Junmyeon couldn’t even say anything as the butler escorted him to the living room, politely informing him that ‘they’ would be here soon. The male managed to snap out of his reverie when the butler closed the door and stared at the huge mirror at the end of the room.
What should he say...?
Junmyeon cleared his throat and dumbly willing to practice his speech.
“Um... H-hi,” Junmyeon said to himself and shook his head in exasperation. “No, it’s too informal. N-nice to meet you, Yifan-shii... Wait, but he’s Chinese...what honorific do I use?” He was about to grab his phone and call Jongdae for a desperate Mandarin 101 in last minute, but halted upon hearing two voices arguing in the hallway.
“...why are you like this...? You need to behave-“
It was a woman’s voice.
“Behave??? I’m the one who carry the company’s burden and you want me to behave??? I don’t need this marriage, Umma, I need some support and definitely not some burdening housewife!!”
“He’s not going to be a burden to you! You need this marriage, Yifan, because he will be the one to support you for the rest of your life. And mind your language, young man! Now brace yourself and go inside!”
“It’s not your marriage, Umma, it’s mine. How can you say that I need this marriage? Oh, I’m gonna go inside, of course, but not to accept him. I’m going in to scold him for agreeing to this stupid idea and that way, he’ll know that I’m not interested!”
Junmyeon felt a huge pang in his chest upon hearing the faint argument and he wondered if it was too late to climb out from one of the windows.
He knew he shouldn’t have come here. He knew it was a mistake. He should’ve declined.
Not only that Kyuhyun didn’t want to keep their relationship, this Yifan person didn’t seem to want to...to just even to know him.
Am I that ugly...?
The door swung open and Junmyeon looked up in fear. An extremely tall male with blond hair walked into the room with anger plastered all over his face. Behind him, a pretty, middle aged woman with long hair followed closely. Junmyeon gripped the armrest tightly for support and prepared himself to get the scold or anger directed to him.
It never came.
Instead, Yifan seemed to run out of things to say as he stared at Junmyeon. The latter hastily dropped his gaze to his lap, unable to look at Yifan. His heart beat so fast like it was about to explode and the minutes of silence were terrifying. It was when Yifan called out his name that he encouraged himself to lift up his face.
“...J-Junmyeon...?”
Junmyeon loosely curled his fist on his mouth. He couldn’t bring himself to reply.
“Y-you’re Kim Junmyeon?” Yifan stammered in disbelief and he received a simple yet confused nod in return. “Shit.”
“Language, young man,” Yifan’s mother warned him but then she fell into a bliss upon seeing his son’s expression. “Well?”
Yifan turned to her with a deep frown. "Well...?"
“Do you still want to cancel?”
***
Yifan had never gotten to answer because his phone rang loudly the next second.
It was safe to say that his first meeting with Yifan didn’t go well.
Junmyeon hadn’t taken a good look at Yifan’s face. The Chinese male groaned as he picked up the call and spun around to leave the room. Junmyeon only got his back as the last view and Yifan had a pair of nice, broad shoulders and a proportional figure. He’s even taller than Kyuhyun... Junmyeon had never felt short before because he actually wasn’t that short for a guy. But now, knowing that Yifan was at least ten inches taller than him-and there was a chance that they would get married, he felt utterly small in size.
Yifan didn’t go back to the living room and the day ended with his mother apologizing profusely and explained that it happened a lot since his husband’s death.
Junmyeon could only smile.
Yifan had the right to reject him.
Junmyeon didn’t think it would work between them, but his parents thought otherwise. It had been a few days since their first encounter and Junmyeon didn’t even try to contact Yifan and vice versa. However, their mothers did. Junmyeon’s mother just happened to wake him up very early that day and send him to do an errand. An errand which all he had to do was just to go to the said place and meet someone.
His mother-and Yifan’s, apparently-was setting up their first date.
Yifan seemed as shock as him when he appeared and Junmyeon glanced over his shoulder, wondering if it was too late to climb back into the car, but his driver and the car were nowhere to be found. There was a tiny percent of sulking formed within him and Junmyeon mentally berated his driver for betraying him.
“Tea...?”
Junmyeon was pulled out of his thoughts and he blankly stared at Yifan. Did he just...? Junmyeon opened his mouth to retort, but at the same moment Yifan’s phone rang and he hesitated. Nonetheless, the Chinese male motioned him to join his table and Junmyeon did as told. The call ended quickly when Junmyeon settled down on the seat.
“Do you want to order? Let me just-“
It was funny and Junmyeon had to hold himself from laughing because Yifan seemed to lose all of his cool. He recalled Yifan’s words at the hallway the other day, just a moment before they met and his heart sank.
Yifan hasn’t answered, remember...?
A waiter came over with a notepad and jotted down Junmyeon’s order.
Junmyeon shifted uncomfortably in his seat and he blushed when his gaze collided with Yifan’s. His line of sight was hastily thrown back down to his ugly jeans (apparently it wasn’t his best pair). He diverted his eyes again to his fingers and he internally groaned, realizing that he needed to clip his nails.
“Junmyeon.”
Junmyeon’s shoulders flinched upon hearing the deep voice.
“Look at me.”
Junmyeon swallowed thickly. He hesitated momentarily before finally looking up.
God, his heart almost came to a stop when he saw Yifan smiling.
The male was extremely handsome. Handsome probably wasn’t the right word. Perfect? Flawless? Breathtaking? Gorgeous? Or all of the above?
“I haven’t properly introduced myself to you,” Yifan carefully placed his cup on the table after he took a sip. “I’ll start first and then it’s your turn, alright?”
Junmyeon blinked for a second before nodding shyly. "Okay."
He loved the idea.
***
It was probably a miracle to have a nice breakfast together.
Because the following days, Yifan had become extremely busy.
Their next dates were never successful.
Due to Yifan’s packed schedules, it was always their mothers who set up their meetings. Junmyeon would obey and go to the places his mother mentioned, but there was no Yifan. He waited patiently for five, ten, fifteen minutes until an hour and a half and Yifan still never showed up. Junmyeon didn’t blame him, the other male looked very busy indeed.
I need some support and not some burdening housewife!
The male hung his head dejectedly and sighed. Yifan’s argument with his mother replayed in his brain. He wasn’t a burden, was he...? He had never asked for Yifan to meet him... It was their mother’s idea to have them met... But why did he always obey? If Junmyeon was busy, he could’ve declined the date...
(But he wasn’t busy, so...)
He was too occupied with his thoughts that another twenty minutes had passed.
Junmyeon visibly bit his bottom lip and decided to leave.
Yifan wasn’t going to come.
Junmyeon got stood up a lot by Yifan and he would be lying if he wasn’t disappointed, but he chose not to express it. If it were just breakfast and tea time before, their mothers had arranged them for a lunch that day. Junmyeon walked into the restaurant with no expectation. Based on his previous experiences, he ordered nothing when the waitress asked what would it be and waited patiently as usual. Junmyeon’s thumb glided across his phone. The male clicked on the contact and his eyes flickered with emotion at a certain name.
Wu Yifan.
Should he...?
But what if it wasn’t picked up?
Yifan’s phone was always, always ringing.
Junmyeon decided to just order the food for take away and this time, he planned to drop by Yifan’s house. He couldn’t stop fidgeting the whole way and his mind was filled with negative thoughts. What if Yifan wasn’t home and he was at a business meeting and that was why he couldn’t make it and- What if Yifan despised their arranged marriage so much and that was why he had been avoiding Junmyeon, to let him know that he-
Junmyeon inwardly groaned.
What is this feeling...?
Junmyeon wasn’t sure. All he knew that Yifan seemed to have a grumpy personality and the male got irritated easily. But perhaps one of the reasons why was because he was under a lot of stress. And Junmyeon, being the kind person he was, just wanted to help.
He wanted to support.
It took Junmyeon a few minutes to finally raise up a hand to ring the doorbell and another several moments until the door was opened. He was a bit taken aback when another extremely tall male showed up. They stared at each other wordlessly and Junmyeon helplessly thought to himself that he indeed was short and it was time to accept that fact.
“Yes?”
The male’s voice was deep. Just like Yifan’s. Junmyeon unsurely cleared his throat.
“Is-is Yifan home...?”
“Ah,” the male nodded knowingly. “You’re Kim Junmyeon?” Junmyeon nodded slightly at that and the taller male extended a hand to him. “Nice to finally meet you. I’m Chanyeol, Yifan’s brother.”
So he is home...
Junmyeon forced himself to smile upon the fact and for a second, he didn’t know what to do except to shake Chanyeol’s hand back. Should he just hand him the food...? Chanyeol noticed his uneasiness and the plastic bag in his hands.
“Come in, hyung.”
“I-“ Junmyeon paused hesitantly. “I’m just gonna be brief...”
“You’re here and Yifan needs a break from all that yelling,” Chanyeol rolled his eyes and tugged Junmyeon’s arm to come inside. “Besides, you brought him food, right?”
“But-“
Chanyeol closed the door behind him and jerked upward with his chin. “Second floor. Just find the room where the yelling was heard.” He patted Junmyeon’s back gently and half dragged the older male to the staircase. “Just in case it had stopped, it’s the second door on the right.”
Junmyeon looked up to the staircase and visibly sunk his teeth onto his lower lip.
“Don’t be scared, he won’t bite. Afterall,” Chanyeol grinned. “You’re gonna marry him.”
Junmyeon turned several shades deeper at his remark, but Chanyeol had already turned around so he didn’t see the marred cheeks. He gulped thickly before proceeding upstairs, slowly approaching the mentioned door. It was slightly ajar and Junmyeon heard yelling that seemed to be in Mandarin. He braved himself to peek inside carefully-
-only to find that Yifan had slammed his poor phone onto the table.
The loud crack was terrifying. Junmyeon audibly gasped and it got Yifan to are toward his direction.
Everything around him seemed to stop revolving when their eyes met.
“Junmyeon?”
Junmyeon felt like fleeing the crime scene (except that it wasn’t).
“H-hi...”
“...are we supposed to have lunch?” Yifan asked tiredly with a hand pressed on his forehead.
Junmyeon looked down at his shoes, trying to fight another blush that was coming and nodded mutely.
Yifan let out a loud sigh as he threw himself on his chair. “...I’ll make it up to you next time.”
Junmyeon awkwardly smiled and again, he nodded. Both of them didn’t move an inch from where they were. Something felt heavy in his hands and that was when he remembered he brought food for Yifan. “Yifan? Have you eaten...?”
“Hm?” Yifan lazily glanced at the old grandfather’s clock in the corner of the room. “I had coffee for breakfast.”
“Coff-“
Junmyeon’s eyes widened in horror. It was already past lunch time and Yifan had only consumed coffee for the day...? Junmyeon was about to step in, but he paused by the door in uncertainty, as if asking for a permission to enter.
“May I...?”
When Yifan gave him a nod, that was when Junmyeon had the courage to step inside. The former paid no attention to him for seconds because he was glancing at his laptop, but Yifan stopped whatever it was that he was doing when Junmyeon reached his desk. Junmyeon shyly placed a lunchbox-some kind of bentou-in front of him and Yifan stared in confusion.
“What is that?”
“I-I bought takeouts...”
“Oh,” Yifan dumbly replied. His line of sight dropped to the food Junmyeon brought him and for a brief second, he wondered if restaurants were serving takeouts in lunchboxes. “Food.”
Junmyeon gave him a small smile. “Yeah, for your lunch.”
“Well, have you eaten?”
Junmyeon shook his head. “I haven’t. I’m just gonna eat at home. You seem busy and I don’t want to interfere anything...” He played with the plastic bag for a while before smiling. “Be sure to eat it, okay? I’ll see you soon...”
Yifan literally paralyzed when Junmyeon turned around to leave. He went blank for few seconds and his mind screamed vehemently at him.
Stop him, idiot!!!!
“W-wait!”
Junmyeon did so and looked over his shoulder questioningly. Yifan had already stood up with his hands pressed on the flat surface of the desk. “Yes...?”
God, those eyes. Those beautiful eyes.
Yifan held up his lunchbox. “Don’t go home. We’ll eat together.”
Junmyeon’s expression changed. “B-but-“
“If you go home, I’m gonna forget that I have to eat and the food will go to waste.”
Yifan almost didn’t care how childish and stupid his reason was, but he would do anything to make Junmyeon stay. The taller of the two sat by his desk and gestured Junmyeon to sit across him with a wave of hand. When Yifan unpacked his lunch, Junmyeon slowly shuffled closer to the desk and sat quietly across Yifan. The male had already started eating and his brows were raised at the first chew.
“Wow.”
“What’s wrong...?”
“This is good.”
Junmyeon chuckled shyly. “That’s because you’re really hungry.”
“No. It’s really good. You have a wonderful taste.”
Junmyeon beamed at him proudly. “Thank you. I’m not really sure of what you want, but this is supposed to be everyone’s favorites...”
Yifan nodded as he ate more-dammit, he really was hungry. “Don’t worry, it’s good. Why don’t we eat there next time?”
“Eh?”
“I said I’ll make it up to you, right?” Yifan gave him a look. “Then I promise you we’ll eat there some time this week.”
Junmyeon blinked. “You...you will...?”
“Of course I will.”
“But you’re busy-“
“I will try to do something about that. You don’t need to worry about it.”
“W-well, in that case...why don’t we just find another place to eat? We can be the culinary couple,” Junmyeon joked to ease his nervousness because he and Yifan were going out for a date for real next time and he blushed when he realized what he had said. “I-I mean, that is if you want to...”
Yifan swallowed the last piece of his meat and nodded. “Sure. Let’s find a fine place to eat, then.”
It was just a simple promise, but for Junmyeon, it meant a lot.
Yifan almost dropped his chopsticks when Junmyeon bloomed into a happy smile. He had never known such simple words could make someone so happy.
“It’s a promise, then,” Junmyeon cheerfully replied.
Yifan would be out of his mind if he said no.
[2]
Author: FloweryMisha
Pairing: KrisHo
Warning: BoyxBoy love. Enough said.
Summary: Junmyeon changed his mind about arranged marriage the minute he met Yifan.
Author's Note: PLEASE, NO TRANSLATIONS ALLOWED ;;;;
True love doesn’t need proof.
The eyes told what heart felt.
--Toba Beta
[All They Ever Wanted]
Junmyeon heard a lot of bad things about arranged marriage.
He was thirteen years old when he first heard the term.
His family had held monthly gathering in his house and most of his older cousins came. The boys didn’t really pay attention to Junmyeon because of the age gap, but the girls did. They would usually team up in a corner after snatching drinks and cookies to exchange gossips and stories of their lives. Even though they were family, they didn’t spend a lot of time together so the gathering was an opportunity for them to catch up.
Junmyeon gasped as Boa grabbed his hand and dragged him into the corner, away from their parents, muttering something along the lines of ‘too young to be with the old folks’.
Soon enough, she and Taeyeon were drowned in soft drinks and cakes. Taeyeon popped more cookies into her mouth as she grimly told the older girl that there was a possibility she would be ‘forced to be a man’s slave and carry his child’. Boa cringed in horror because Taeyeon was fifteen and she was eighteen-that meant if it ever happened, she was going to be first. Boa gulped the rest of her drink and sobbed in desperation-why couldn’t they just leave them alone?
But maybe it was the price for being freaking rich.
Junmyeon bemusedly stared at the two girls as they continued to exchange dramatic sighs and thoughtful comments. Boa added something about ‘what would she do if he was a cheater’ or ‘what would happen if there was no spark whatsoever’ and Taeyeon hung her head dejectedly, not knowing what to say. Junmyeon swallowed thickly and played with the hem of his shirt.
Taeyeon noticed his awkwardness and patted his head affectionately.
“Find your own happiness, Junmyeonie.”
He was a bit too young to understand. But whatever it was, arranged marriage was definitely something to be avoided in his life.
Junmyeon was so determined to not going to let his parents arranged such thing for him and as he grew older, he desperately tried to establish an intimate relationship. He tried and he tried and oh he tried, but it was when he graduated from high school that he realized he wasn’t interested in girls. Junmyeon couldn’t feel anything even when his friends told him that he was lucky to have her because she was cute and pretty and fashionable and perfect for him and all that jazz.
Maybe this is what Boa-noona meant by not having a spark whatsoever...?
It somehow scared him because as far as he knew, even heterosexual relationships had a lot of problems. Did it mean same sex relationship was better? Or was it even worse...?
Junmyeon never really found out because he was too scared to try.
When he turned seventeen, Boa got married to a fine, young man. To think that she was just twenty two at that moment... Everyone was happy for her because she was young and pretty and lucky enough to marry someone from a good family-not forgetting to mention wealthy. They all complimented how Boa looked gorgeous in the wedding dress and drowned in happiness.
But Junmyeon didn’t think he would ever forget her expression.
Sure, her spouse was handsome and he was the perfect candidate to marry to, but it was clear that his cousin was unhappy. Boa had to force herself to smile throughout the long process of the wedding and choked when they had to exchanged vows. Junmyeon found himself clutching his chest the whole time, as if he could feel what she felt. Taeyeon patted his back to calm him down, but it was obvious that she wasn’t calm herself. Junmyeon overheard the words she uttered under her breath and they sounded like ‘You’re happy with Jes. This isn’t going to happen to you.’
Junmyeon’s lips trembled.
What was the use of marriage if it caused one to be unhappy?
Junmyeon didn’t want to be unhappy...
So he searched for a boyfriend who he could possibly loved. Someone who could give him all the comfort he needed. Someone who would protect him from harm. Someone, who could be his reason why he wanted no arranged marriage. Because he was in a relationship and he was happy.
But it was hard because Junmyeon got scared easily.
Everytime someone tried to get close to him, Junmyeon would always back away. Everytime someone tried to invade his personal space, Junmyeon would push him away. It happened endlessly like a cycle that one day, Kyungsoo just decided to snap at him. Junmyeon was aghast because Kyungsoo had been his close friend since high school and not even once the doe eyed male ever scolded him.
“Nothing’s going to happen if you’re not willing to try,” Kyungsoo growled in irritation. “You want to be happy, right?”
Junmyeon didn’t answer in a long time before nodding mutely.
Yeah, he wanted to be happy...
“Then you have to try, Hyung.”
Kyungsoo gave him a firm stare and squeezed Junmyeon’s shoulder lightly.
“You have to try."
***
Happiness was probably the keyword why Junmyeon accepted Cho Kyuhyun’s feelings.
He didn’t really know why he chose Kyuhyun of all people.
An hour after he accepted the confession, Junmyeon half regretted it. He wasn’t even sure of his own feelings. It seemed rushed and he was scared what Kyuhyun had for him was temporary, but as their relationship evolved from weeks to months, Junmyeon became relaxed and dismissed the irrational thought. Kyuhyun was sweet. The male was handsome, he had a kind heart and most of all, he had a wealthy family.
Maybe he was the one.
When Junmyeon told his mother that he was dating the heir of Cho family, she beamed happily at him. And for the first time in his life, he felt extremely relieved. Relieved for the fact that there was a chance he wasn’t going to have an arranged marriage. Relieved for the fact that he could marry Kyuhyun and live happily ever after.
Except for the fact that he had nothing for Kyuhyun.
Junmyeon tried to build his feelings for the older male. He tried a bit too hard and his acting sucked whenever he bragged about his boyfriend. Junmyeon felt like he was wearing a mask, a terrible one at that. Kyungsoo would always smile at him whenever Junmyeon complimented small things about Kyuhyun, but his eyes told him that he didn’t want him to pretend.
“You’re not that happy,” Kyungsoo once said. “You don’t pretend to be happy, Hyung.”
And he knew Kyungsoo was right.
He was unhappy.
But his relationship with Kyuhyun was much better than to marry someone he knew nothing of.
When the male turned nineteen, Boa signed the divorce paper with her husband. It didn’t come as a shock for Junmyeon, but their parents were outraged. To think that their marriage only lasted for two years. They didn’t have children and both families were rich, so neither of them bothered about the money. Really, money was the last thing they should be worried about-the social status always came first.
A few months after that, Junmyeon found out that Taeyeon had also left to be with Jessica. She decided to leave the family to be with her girlfriend, so she wouldn’t have to go through what Boa went through. Clearly both Boa and Taeyeon weren’t happy with the way they lived. It was like everything had been decided for them and all they needed to do was just to follow. It was natural to want to break the tradition.
That was why Junmyeon tried to hold on. He still did his best to love Kyuhyun and enchanted the reason why he held on repeatedly to himself like a mantra. As long as he and Kyuhyun didn’t break up, things wouldn’t be disastrous. Kyuhyun was nice.
Kyuhyun was the one...right?
But maybe, it was too soon for Junmyeon to think that way.
“You’re marrying the heir of the Wu family next year, Junmyeon-ah.”
Junmyeon weakly dropped his spoon onto the napkin beside his plate.
The conversation happened casually at lunch. His mother’s tone was so flat like it was nothing big, like Junmyeon was just going to be away for picnic.
“B-but...” The fair skinned male managed to gather his voice after moments of suffocating silence. “But Umma, I’m dating-“
“Break it off with Kyuhyun,” she said nonchalantly like, again, it wasn’t a hard thing to do. “The Cho family is nice and it’s such a shame, to be honest...but Yifan needs you more. I met his mother at the restaurant last night. It’s been a while since I last saw her...her husband just passed away recently and everything has been tough. We talked about it and if you must know, I’m more than happy to let you go to the Wu family. She’s a really nice person.”
Yifan.
It’s such a strange name...
What if I don’t love him, Umma?
“I’m sure Kyuhyun will understand,” she said softly. “This kind of thing happens a lot in our environment. It’s unavoidable.”
Junmyeon opened his mouth to stutter more, but the way his mother resumed eating and avoided his gaze showed that she didn’t want the conversation to be continued. He choked back a sob and placed a hand on his mouth.
He couldn’t help but let the tears streamed down his cheeks.
Junmyeon felt helpless, but there was nothing he could do.
***
Junmyeon didn’t know since when he had a feeling it wasn’t going to last between him and Kyuhyun.
Sure, they didn’t have a lot of things in common and sometimes Junmyeon wondered why they could stand each other, but people always said that it was better to be in a relationship with someone that was the opposite of you. If the saying was true, then wasn’t it supposed to work out between them?
Junmyeon was quiet. Kyuhyun was lively. Junmyeon disliked suprises. Kyuhyun was the prankster. Junmyeon wasn’t into alcohol. Kyuhyun gulped down a pitcher of beer like it was plain water.
They had a lot of differences, in fact, there were too many. But Junmyeon was just too scared to admit it. He was afraid if he and Kyuhyun broke up, his mother would take it as an opportunity to pair him with someone-moreover, a stranger. That was why he held on to the fragile relationship for a whole year.
It wasn’t supposed to be hard.
All Junmyeon had to do was just to put on a smile and tell Kyuhyun that it was over. That he needed to marry someone else. That maybe, just maybe, Kyuhyun would be able to find someone else. Maybe he would cry. Maybe Kyuhyun would cry. Maybe they would stumble upon the mushy situation and they would feel awkward to suppress the urge to hide the tears in public. Maybe Kyuhyun would beg for him to decline.
A lot of ‘maybe’s swam through Junmyeon’s mind. Unfortunately, there were no ‘what if’s.
What if Kyuhyun doesn’t mind?
“Sure,” his boyfriend shrugged when Junmyeon informed him the (shocking) news. “It can’t be helped...if that’s what your mother wants.”
Unlike him, Kyuhyun had no trouble letting him go.
Junmyeon stared in disbelief. “S-sure...?”
Is that all you have to say...?
“Yeah.”
Junmyeon’s mind went blank and he had a hard time processing what his boyfriend-make that an ex boyfriend-just said.
Kyuhyun took a sip of his cold drink and looked away thoughtfully. The male didn’t even look troubled at all, like it was all right. Like what they had was not important. Like the past 365 days meant nothing to him.
“There’s nothing we can do about it.”
Yes, we can. We can run or we can confront them about it.
“It’s your life.”
Someone else decides everything for me-how is that even called a life?
“Besides, you have to admit that our relationship is pretty dull...” Kyuhyun smiled apologetically and placed a hand on top of Junmyeon’s. “But...but I guess if you don’t want to give in to the plan, we could-“
It’s too late.
“I-I don’t want to disobey my parents,” Junmyeon intercepted with a cracked voice.
Why didn’t you fight for me?
“Oh,” Kyuhyun pulled his hand away offhandedly and Junmyeon wondered if his words earlier were just plain courtesy. “I hope you’re happy then, Junmyeon-ah.”
Junmyeon wanted to retort that he would, but he didn’t have the courage to. Instead he took a deep breath to calm down and nodded.
“Thank you, Hyung...”
***
Junmyeon didn’t have the slightest clue of Yifan’s appearance.
His mother refused to give him even a glimpse of the pictures because apparently ‘the wedding would still go on even if you think lowly of him’. Junmyeon tried to think positive-that Yifan was a great guy, because surely his mother wouldn’t want him to be with someone that wasn’t worth it. His mother gave him Yifan’s number but up until that day, Junmyeon didn’t have the courage to contact the other male first.
After several days of making excuses why he hadn’t called Yifan (But wasn’t he supposed to call me first? Junmyeon helplessly thought), his mother finally sent him over to the Wu family’s house. What made it worse was that he was alone. Junmyeon wanted to whine and protest and beg because why the house for the first meeting? It should be someplace else-someplace crowded like the restaurant, cafe or mall. What if things went awkward and he couldn’t escape? What if-
Junmyeon fell silent under his mother’s glare and reluctantly obeyed.
Wu family’s house it was, then.
The minute he arrived, he realized that ‘house’ was an understatement. It was practically a mansion. Junmyeon couldn’t even say anything as the butler escorted him to the living room, politely informing him that ‘they’ would be here soon. The male managed to snap out of his reverie when the butler closed the door and stared at the huge mirror at the end of the room.
What should he say...?
Junmyeon cleared his throat and dumbly willing to practice his speech.
“Um... H-hi,” Junmyeon said to himself and shook his head in exasperation. “No, it’s too informal. N-nice to meet you, Yifan-shii... Wait, but he’s Chinese...what honorific do I use?” He was about to grab his phone and call Jongdae for a desperate Mandarin 101 in last minute, but halted upon hearing two voices arguing in the hallway.
“...why are you like this...? You need to behave-“
It was a woman’s voice.
“Behave??? I’m the one who carry the company’s burden and you want me to behave??? I don’t need this marriage, Umma, I need some support and definitely not some burdening housewife!!”
“He’s not going to be a burden to you! You need this marriage, Yifan, because he will be the one to support you for the rest of your life. And mind your language, young man! Now brace yourself and go inside!”
“It’s not your marriage, Umma, it’s mine. How can you say that I need this marriage? Oh, I’m gonna go inside, of course, but not to accept him. I’m going in to scold him for agreeing to this stupid idea and that way, he’ll know that I’m not interested!”
Junmyeon felt a huge pang in his chest upon hearing the faint argument and he wondered if it was too late to climb out from one of the windows.
He knew he shouldn’t have come here. He knew it was a mistake. He should’ve declined.
Not only that Kyuhyun didn’t want to keep their relationship, this Yifan person didn’t seem to want to...to just even to know him.
Am I that ugly...?
The door swung open and Junmyeon looked up in fear. An extremely tall male with blond hair walked into the room with anger plastered all over his face. Behind him, a pretty, middle aged woman with long hair followed closely. Junmyeon gripped the armrest tightly for support and prepared himself to get the scold or anger directed to him.
It never came.
Instead, Yifan seemed to run out of things to say as he stared at Junmyeon. The latter hastily dropped his gaze to his lap, unable to look at Yifan. His heart beat so fast like it was about to explode and the minutes of silence were terrifying. It was when Yifan called out his name that he encouraged himself to lift up his face.
“...J-Junmyeon...?”
Junmyeon loosely curled his fist on his mouth. He couldn’t bring himself to reply.
“Y-you’re Kim Junmyeon?” Yifan stammered in disbelief and he received a simple yet confused nod in return. “Shit.”
“Language, young man,” Yifan’s mother warned him but then she fell into a bliss upon seeing his son’s expression. “Well?”
Yifan turned to her with a deep frown. "Well...?"
“Do you still want to cancel?”
***
Yifan had never gotten to answer because his phone rang loudly the next second.
It was safe to say that his first meeting with Yifan didn’t go well.
Junmyeon hadn’t taken a good look at Yifan’s face. The Chinese male groaned as he picked up the call and spun around to leave the room. Junmyeon only got his back as the last view and Yifan had a pair of nice, broad shoulders and a proportional figure. He’s even taller than Kyuhyun... Junmyeon had never felt short before because he actually wasn’t that short for a guy. But now, knowing that Yifan was at least ten inches taller than him-and there was a chance that they would get married, he felt utterly small in size.
Yifan didn’t go back to the living room and the day ended with his mother apologizing profusely and explained that it happened a lot since his husband’s death.
Junmyeon could only smile.
Yifan had the right to reject him.
Junmyeon didn’t think it would work between them, but his parents thought otherwise. It had been a few days since their first encounter and Junmyeon didn’t even try to contact Yifan and vice versa. However, their mothers did. Junmyeon’s mother just happened to wake him up very early that day and send him to do an errand. An errand which all he had to do was just to go to the said place and meet someone.
His mother-and Yifan’s, apparently-was setting up their first date.
Yifan seemed as shock as him when he appeared and Junmyeon glanced over his shoulder, wondering if it was too late to climb back into the car, but his driver and the car were nowhere to be found. There was a tiny percent of sulking formed within him and Junmyeon mentally berated his driver for betraying him.
“Tea...?”
Junmyeon was pulled out of his thoughts and he blankly stared at Yifan. Did he just...? Junmyeon opened his mouth to retort, but at the same moment Yifan’s phone rang and he hesitated. Nonetheless, the Chinese male motioned him to join his table and Junmyeon did as told. The call ended quickly when Junmyeon settled down on the seat.
“Do you want to order? Let me just-“
It was funny and Junmyeon had to hold himself from laughing because Yifan seemed to lose all of his cool. He recalled Yifan’s words at the hallway the other day, just a moment before they met and his heart sank.
Yifan hasn’t answered, remember...?
A waiter came over with a notepad and jotted down Junmyeon’s order.
Junmyeon shifted uncomfortably in his seat and he blushed when his gaze collided with Yifan’s. His line of sight was hastily thrown back down to his ugly jeans (apparently it wasn’t his best pair). He diverted his eyes again to his fingers and he internally groaned, realizing that he needed to clip his nails.
“Junmyeon.”
Junmyeon’s shoulders flinched upon hearing the deep voice.
“Look at me.”
Junmyeon swallowed thickly. He hesitated momentarily before finally looking up.
God, his heart almost came to a stop when he saw Yifan smiling.
The male was extremely handsome. Handsome probably wasn’t the right word. Perfect? Flawless? Breathtaking? Gorgeous? Or all of the above?
“I haven’t properly introduced myself to you,” Yifan carefully placed his cup on the table after he took a sip. “I’ll start first and then it’s your turn, alright?”
Junmyeon blinked for a second before nodding shyly. "Okay."
He loved the idea.
***
It was probably a miracle to have a nice breakfast together.
Because the following days, Yifan had become extremely busy.
Their next dates were never successful.
Due to Yifan’s packed schedules, it was always their mothers who set up their meetings. Junmyeon would obey and go to the places his mother mentioned, but there was no Yifan. He waited patiently for five, ten, fifteen minutes until an hour and a half and Yifan still never showed up. Junmyeon didn’t blame him, the other male looked very busy indeed.
I need some support and not some burdening housewife!
The male hung his head dejectedly and sighed. Yifan’s argument with his mother replayed in his brain. He wasn’t a burden, was he...? He had never asked for Yifan to meet him... It was their mother’s idea to have them met... But why did he always obey? If Junmyeon was busy, he could’ve declined the date...
(But he wasn’t busy, so...)
He was too occupied with his thoughts that another twenty minutes had passed.
Junmyeon visibly bit his bottom lip and decided to leave.
Yifan wasn’t going to come.
Junmyeon got stood up a lot by Yifan and he would be lying if he wasn’t disappointed, but he chose not to express it. If it were just breakfast and tea time before, their mothers had arranged them for a lunch that day. Junmyeon walked into the restaurant with no expectation. Based on his previous experiences, he ordered nothing when the waitress asked what would it be and waited patiently as usual. Junmyeon’s thumb glided across his phone. The male clicked on the contact and his eyes flickered with emotion at a certain name.
Wu Yifan.
Should he...?
But what if it wasn’t picked up?
Yifan’s phone was always, always ringing.
Junmyeon decided to just order the food for take away and this time, he planned to drop by Yifan’s house. He couldn’t stop fidgeting the whole way and his mind was filled with negative thoughts. What if Yifan wasn’t home and he was at a business meeting and that was why he couldn’t make it and- What if Yifan despised their arranged marriage so much and that was why he had been avoiding Junmyeon, to let him know that he-
Junmyeon inwardly groaned.
What is this feeling...?
Junmyeon wasn’t sure. All he knew that Yifan seemed to have a grumpy personality and the male got irritated easily. But perhaps one of the reasons why was because he was under a lot of stress. And Junmyeon, being the kind person he was, just wanted to help.
He wanted to support.
It took Junmyeon a few minutes to finally raise up a hand to ring the doorbell and another several moments until the door was opened. He was a bit taken aback when another extremely tall male showed up. They stared at each other wordlessly and Junmyeon helplessly thought to himself that he indeed was short and it was time to accept that fact.
“Yes?”
The male’s voice was deep. Just like Yifan’s. Junmyeon unsurely cleared his throat.
“Is-is Yifan home...?”
“Ah,” the male nodded knowingly. “You’re Kim Junmyeon?” Junmyeon nodded slightly at that and the taller male extended a hand to him. “Nice to finally meet you. I’m Chanyeol, Yifan’s brother.”
So he is home...
Junmyeon forced himself to smile upon the fact and for a second, he didn’t know what to do except to shake Chanyeol’s hand back. Should he just hand him the food...? Chanyeol noticed his uneasiness and the plastic bag in his hands.
“Come in, hyung.”
“I-“ Junmyeon paused hesitantly. “I’m just gonna be brief...”
“You’re here and Yifan needs a break from all that yelling,” Chanyeol rolled his eyes and tugged Junmyeon’s arm to come inside. “Besides, you brought him food, right?”
“But-“
Chanyeol closed the door behind him and jerked upward with his chin. “Second floor. Just find the room where the yelling was heard.” He patted Junmyeon’s back gently and half dragged the older male to the staircase. “Just in case it had stopped, it’s the second door on the right.”
Junmyeon looked up to the staircase and visibly sunk his teeth onto his lower lip.
“Don’t be scared, he won’t bite. Afterall,” Chanyeol grinned. “You’re gonna marry him.”
Junmyeon turned several shades deeper at his remark, but Chanyeol had already turned around so he didn’t see the marred cheeks. He gulped thickly before proceeding upstairs, slowly approaching the mentioned door. It was slightly ajar and Junmyeon heard yelling that seemed to be in Mandarin. He braved himself to peek inside carefully-
-only to find that Yifan had slammed his poor phone onto the table.
The loud crack was terrifying. Junmyeon audibly gasped and it got Yifan to are toward his direction.
Everything around him seemed to stop revolving when their eyes met.
“Junmyeon?”
Junmyeon felt like fleeing the crime scene (except that it wasn’t).
“H-hi...”
“...are we supposed to have lunch?” Yifan asked tiredly with a hand pressed on his forehead.
Junmyeon looked down at his shoes, trying to fight another blush that was coming and nodded mutely.
Yifan let out a loud sigh as he threw himself on his chair. “...I’ll make it up to you next time.”
Junmyeon awkwardly smiled and again, he nodded. Both of them didn’t move an inch from where they were. Something felt heavy in his hands and that was when he remembered he brought food for Yifan. “Yifan? Have you eaten...?”
“Hm?” Yifan lazily glanced at the old grandfather’s clock in the corner of the room. “I had coffee for breakfast.”
“Coff-“
Junmyeon’s eyes widened in horror. It was already past lunch time and Yifan had only consumed coffee for the day...? Junmyeon was about to step in, but he paused by the door in uncertainty, as if asking for a permission to enter.
“May I...?”
When Yifan gave him a nod, that was when Junmyeon had the courage to step inside. The former paid no attention to him for seconds because he was glancing at his laptop, but Yifan stopped whatever it was that he was doing when Junmyeon reached his desk. Junmyeon shyly placed a lunchbox-some kind of bentou-in front of him and Yifan stared in confusion.
“What is that?”
“I-I bought takeouts...”
“Oh,” Yifan dumbly replied. His line of sight dropped to the food Junmyeon brought him and for a brief second, he wondered if restaurants were serving takeouts in lunchboxes. “Food.”
Junmyeon gave him a small smile. “Yeah, for your lunch.”
“Well, have you eaten?”
Junmyeon shook his head. “I haven’t. I’m just gonna eat at home. You seem busy and I don’t want to interfere anything...” He played with the plastic bag for a while before smiling. “Be sure to eat it, okay? I’ll see you soon...”
Yifan literally paralyzed when Junmyeon turned around to leave. He went blank for few seconds and his mind screamed vehemently at him.
Stop him, idiot!!!!
“W-wait!”
Junmyeon did so and looked over his shoulder questioningly. Yifan had already stood up with his hands pressed on the flat surface of the desk. “Yes...?”
God, those eyes. Those beautiful eyes.
Yifan held up his lunchbox. “Don’t go home. We’ll eat together.”
Junmyeon’s expression changed. “B-but-“
“If you go home, I’m gonna forget that I have to eat and the food will go to waste.”
Yifan almost didn’t care how childish and stupid his reason was, but he would do anything to make Junmyeon stay. The taller of the two sat by his desk and gestured Junmyeon to sit across him with a wave of hand. When Yifan unpacked his lunch, Junmyeon slowly shuffled closer to the desk and sat quietly across Yifan. The male had already started eating and his brows were raised at the first chew.
“Wow.”
“What’s wrong...?”
“This is good.”
Junmyeon chuckled shyly. “That’s because you’re really hungry.”
“No. It’s really good. You have a wonderful taste.”
Junmyeon beamed at him proudly. “Thank you. I’m not really sure of what you want, but this is supposed to be everyone’s favorites...”
Yifan nodded as he ate more-dammit, he really was hungry. “Don’t worry, it’s good. Why don’t we eat there next time?”
“Eh?”
“I said I’ll make it up to you, right?” Yifan gave him a look. “Then I promise you we’ll eat there some time this week.”
Junmyeon blinked. “You...you will...?”
“Of course I will.”
“But you’re busy-“
“I will try to do something about that. You don’t need to worry about it.”
“W-well, in that case...why don’t we just find another place to eat? We can be the culinary couple,” Junmyeon joked to ease his nervousness because he and Yifan were going out for a date for real next time and he blushed when he realized what he had said. “I-I mean, that is if you want to...”
Yifan swallowed the last piece of his meat and nodded. “Sure. Let’s find a fine place to eat, then.”
It was just a simple promise, but for Junmyeon, it meant a lot.
Yifan almost dropped his chopsticks when Junmyeon bloomed into a happy smile. He had never known such simple words could make someone so happy.
“It’s a promise, then,” Junmyeon cheerfully replied.
Yifan would be out of his mind if he said no.
[2]