Metamorphosis [o3]
Title: Metamorphosis
Length: Series
Author: LadyDusk_Raku
Rating: PG-13/16
Genre: Drama, Romance, flecks of Humor, AU
Pairings: Eventual Jaeho, Yoosu, (implied) Changta
Summary: Jung Yunho was the top choice for dating in Junior High, and yet he dated one Kim Jaejoong for his pretty face, just to prove he could get anyone. He dumped him at the end of the year, never expecting to see him again, especially not his senior year of High School; a whole new person. Now that he wants to rekindle an old flame, how long will it take him to realize Jae’s appearance isn’t the only thing that’s changed, and that the boy isn’t up for games any longer?
A/N: You guys are awesome. Seriously. :D
So much support from you lovelies. Sorry for the extreme wait~ *hides from
erinastrid * -cough-
This chapter in the outline was reconfigured. XP I decided it was way too short and needed a kick. Please tell me if it goes too fast. Looking at the outline, maybe it’s the fact that I am the creator and I know the whole thing, but it feels that way. I hope it’s not however and that this chapter helps a bit. ^ ^
<33!
~.:Metamorphosis:.~
Chapter o3.
Textbooks, pens, pencils, a calculator, and a ten page report from the previous night’s homework went clattering to the floor. Yunho watched on patiently as the shorter boy gawked openly at him like a dying fish. He managed to close it in an effort to lessen looking like fool, and quickly knelt to gather his things.
Jaejoong gulped once; his mouth was dry. “E-Excuse me?” he stuttered. Yunho sighed, switching his backpack onto the opposite shoulder.
“I said, ‘Go out with me’.” he looked at the other curiously. “What’s the matter, you don’t like guys?”
Well, you didn’t hear that every day.
Jaejoong blushed heavily and stood, head bowed. “T-that’s not it.” God, why did Jung Yunho of all people have to confront him like this? He got nervous whenever he was put on the spot.
“Eh? Is it me then?” Yunho asked, although one could tell even he doubted that. The pretty brunet flushed, if possible, even more and shook his head.
“No, no! It’s not that, of course. I…I just didn’t expect it.” he murmured. The taller boy shrugged; that was no big deal. In fact, that was a good sign. This boy definitely wouldn’t be confident enough to try cheating on him like his last girl friend. It was his best idea yet.
“Well, whatever. Are you gonna go out with me or what, Jaejoong ah?” he asked familiarly.
Jaejoong blushed again at the sound of his name. So informal… “Um…I guess so--I mean…okay.”
Yunho nodded. “Good. Ah, you can call me Yunho-hyung if you want.” he added as an afterthought. He hated being called someone’s dongsaeng; it made him feel small, and as one of the popular kids he hated that.
“…Okay.” Jaejoong agreed, although confused. Wasn’t he older than Yunho? Oh well. Yunho nodded again as if he were proud of his accomplishment, and grabbed the thin brunet by the arm.
“C’mon, we have the same first class right?” he tugged him along like a doll. “I always walked my girlfriends to class.”
Jaejoong ‘eep’ed and managed to close his locker door before he was practically dragged along with his new ‘boyfriend’. So much was happening so fast; his head was spinning. “But I’m not a girl--Wait!” he noticed the direction they were heading, and pulled back on Yunho’s arm, causing the other to stop and look at him questioningly. “…Can‘t we go down another way?” he asked pleadingly.
Yunho frowned. “Why?” he looked forward. It was the route he took to his first period every morning. It was where a lot of jocks and other popular kids crowded around (and quite a few bullies but not in Yunho’s case), and with the bell minutes away, there were only a few stragglers waiting until the last second to scoot off to class by the shortest route. He didn’t see why they would go another way.
“Well…” Jaejoong started, embarrassed. “It’s just that…usually, if I go down there I run into trouble--w-what are you doing?!” Yunho had started to tug him along again, as if he hadn’t heard a word.
“Don’t be stupid, no one will mess with you while I’m around.” Yunho said haughtily. Whatever he owned, people didn’t mess with. That was a fact.
Jaejoong blinked, misinterpreting the meaning. “…Oh…” They passed right through the corridor without so much as a glare his way, and he had to admit he was impressed. Did that mean…around Yunho, he wouldn’t have to be hurt anymore? Bullied and pushed around? Being protected…it was a nice feeling.
“Here we are,” Yunho commented, as they reached the classroom just in time. He dropped the other’s hand as they went to their separate seats; Jaejoong noted already that there were some girls glaring in his direction jealously. He inwardly shrunk and hurried to his seat, burying his face into a textbook. He hated attention…and yet…there was a smile on his face as he stole a glance in Yunho’s direction.
Maybe things were looking up for him.
***
It had been weeks since the second day of school, and Yunho, was finding himself irritated more and more. The Jaejoong situation was one thing. The guy had a boyfriend; something that he had not expected at all. In reality, he supposed he shouldn’t be surprised. An attractive guy like Jaejoong, single? With all the admirers clawing at his feet, someone was bound to have him, and yet…it irked him to no end. Seeing this ‘Dongwook’ pick Jae up occasionally from school; the two of them bantering or greeting with little kisses and sweet words. He wasn’t…jealous or anything, it was just that Jaejoong was still in his system, and he had yet to rid of it. If he had known that thin boy with the glasses would turn out this way…he probably would’ve held onto him a while longer.
He sighed, leaning against a tree in the schoolyard. A quick glance around told him there was still no sign of his best friend, and he frowned. That was another problem as of late. This ‘infatuation’ Yoochun had with Junsu was becoming a problem. It had already passed the three week mark that his best friend’s relationships usually crumbled around, and Junsu was still around. It was horrifying for him, exhilarating for Yoochun. Every time a week passed without a problem, the latter would refuse to get his hopes up, trying some test or check in case the auburn cutie wasn’t the one. Every time, Yunho hoped Junsu would fail and be dropped like a bad habit. Every time, the boy would pass unknowingly; be it the way he didn’t whine like all the other girls before him, how he didn’t cling, nag, or grow jealous too easily, Yoochun approved with a sense of awe.
‘Jeeze, it’s not like he’s a saint.’ Yunho thought. ‘In fact, he’s anything but that.’
Even if he wouldn’t admit it, the real reason he was so jeal--annoyed, was because Junsu was butting in. He was taking up the time that Yoochun usually took to hang out with him, as his best friend. Yunho had a feeling he was doing it on purpose, too.
What the hell…
He sighed, resigned to the fact that he probably wouldn’t see Yoochun before first period. Maybe after…? Yunho pushed off of the tree and headed into the building for his class.
~__***__~
“Now as you all know, the density of a substance is a measure of how much mass is present in a given unit of volume. This formula here…” Ms. Lee’s voice lectured on, boring the students who didn’t have the IQ or attention span for this class. Jaejoong sat in the far back, pencil behind his ear as he only scribbled down a few choice notes with his pen. (He understood most of the lesson, having gone over it beforehand) The blond student rocked his head slowly as if to some smooth melody, before pausing to jot down something on the opposite page of his notebook. He was in a relatively good mood today, although he wasn’t so sure as to why.
A few seats away, Yunho tried hard to concentrate onto the lesson, and not the content look on Jaejoong’s face. He seemed…happy about something? Not overly but…more at ease. The brunet’s face darkened slightly as he thought about it. ‘His boyfriend probably had something to do with it…’ He turned his attention back to the board as his teacher began assigning homework; his mood now opposite of the fair-haired boy nearby.
Ms. Lee pushed up her glasses, clearing her throat as she opened another folder on her desk. Some of the students groaned, suspecting that it was ‘extra credit’ (‘do it or you fail’). She smirked at the muffled complaints, before shooting a sharp look that achieved silence immediately.
“Now that I have your attention,” she said, waving the folder. “I’m going to assure those of you grumbling, that this is not extra credit.” There were cheers of relief before she deadpanned: “It’s a full year project.” Looks of horror.
“Project?” one boy inquired. “What kind of project?”
Ms. Lee began to pass out a sheet to each student as she went down the rows. “These papers that I am handing out, are full instructions and detailed explanations of what you’ll be doing for this assignment.” There were murmurs around the classroom as everyone pondered over it. “There is no exception to not completing this project, lest you contract some rare disease and need to be sent overseas for treatment; you have the entire year to complete this, so don’t feel as if you have to rush.”
Yunho nodded to himself as he received his own sheet; that sounded easy…‘I bet there’s a catch.’
“Despite having all year to do this, you do not have to wait to present your project. Whenever you’re ready, be it a week from now or one week before exams, you can turn in your project to be graded. Now,” she looked around the class. “Are there any questions?”
Jaejoong looked on silently, curious but with no specific questions…however, one thing was puzzling him…
“Ah, Ms. Lee…?” another student asked suddenly.
She looked at him kindly, nodding. “Yes?”
“It says that there are two different opinionated essays to be written about the subject, and then one joined essay with the project…how can we…?”
The chemistry teacher’s eyes twinkled. “Ah yes, that. There is one little thing about this project.” The kids were practically on the edge of their seats now. “You must do it in pairs.” There was a mixture of groans and a few ‘whoops’ of joy. Yunho and Jaejoong unknowingly both cursed in their minds. As top students, that made things all the more difficult. Ms. Lee held up a hand to silence them once again; looking at the happy ones with an eyebrow raised. “Pairs that I will randomly choose.” Once again, groans dominated the atmosphere.
Jaejoong sighed, resting his chin on the palm of his hand. So much for his good mood today. Ms. Lee picked up a small velvet bag, shaking it a few times before reaching in to grab two slips of paper. He winced, wondering who he’d end up with. She read each pair of names quickly, while those who were now partners moved their desks closer or swapped seats with classmates. The more he didn’t hear his name called, the more worried Jaejoong grew. There were only a few students left, and they were either brain-dead when it came to Chemistry, or they were Yunho. He didn’t know which was worse.
Four students were now left. Ms. Lee reached into the bag and pulled out a slip. “Kim Jaejoong...”
Jaejoong clasped his hands together in a silent prayer. ‘Pleeeease. Oh please let me get the ditzy fan girl, please. I can charm her into growing a brain, pleeeeease.’
“…and Jung Yunho.” Jaejoong let his head drop onto his desk. Yunho smiled at having another chance.
‘I had better have killed someone important in a previous life to deserve this,’ the sulking blond thought. The scraping of another desk being pulled near his reached his ears, and he lifted up his head to see the chestnut haired male nearly too close for comfort. He obviously wasn’t as concerned about this as Jaejoong was; how perfect.
Yunho waved the project papers in his hands. “So…you have any idea of who you want to work on?” there was a stupid smile on his face, as he was obviously not disappointed with who he’d been partnered with. Jaejoong frowned, ignoring the question to look at his own assignment directions more clearly.
“We…have to do a project about a famous chemist; research, biography, and three essays. One each, and then a jointed opinion essay. We can do a time line or some kind of chart if we want extra credit to our grade, but it’s not mandatory; our biography has to be presented to the class…” he bit his lip unconsciously, already going over ideas. Yunho stared at the action a good minute or two before he cleared his throat, looking off to the side relaxed.
He slouched down in his seat, throwing his arms behind his head. “This is an easy assignment. I say we go with Albert Einstein; everyone will know who we’re talking about and he’s got a ton of achievements we can write about.” His mood had improved a bit since he’d been partnered up with his newest focus. He didn’t need an excuse to be near him now.
Jaejoong shook his head, a few blond strands falling into his eyes. “No, that’s exactly why we shouldn’t go with Albert Einstein. He’s too easy a topic; everyone else is bound to pick him.”
A sigh. “You have a better choice, then?” Yunho was a good student, but he hated to do something harder when you could get the same results with a more simpler option. As long as they did a great job, the grade would still be the same. The sound of turning pages caught his ear, and he glanced over to see Jaejoong flipping through his chemistry book. The older male stopped somewhere towards the back, trailing a finger down the index and then pausing over a name.
“Yes, this chemist right here. ‘Fritz Haber’; he was a German chemist who received the Nobel Prize in 1918.”
Yunho sat up to look at the name, before shaking his head in disagreement. “That guy? He’s a nobody compared to Albert Einstein and he’s not really famous. No one will know who we’re talking about.”
Jaejoong steeled his jaw, quelling the urge to crack the other upside the head with the textbook. “This is not a popularity contest, Yunho. Fritz Haber may not have had as big an reputation as Albert Einstein, but his story is just as interesting as the next. At least we’ll have originality in our project for not just going with the crowd pleaser.” The chestnut-haired teen blinked. The blond across from him sighed in frustration and rubbed his temples, mumbling.
“…What?” Yunho asked.
“Nothing, I said nothing.” Jaejoong replied, laying his head down. He tapped the pen in his hand against the page in his notebook, sitting up and scribbling something down in one of the blank spaces on that page. “Look, we have plenty of time; just look up the guy when you get home. He’s interesting enough to get us a perfect grade if we do it right, and we wont have to worry about cramming a bunch of extra information like an Albert Einstein project would warrant.” he bit his lip again, thinking over his next words. “I can’t believe I’m doing this, …but here’s my cell phone number.” he ripped out the corner of the paper and handed it over.
Yunho took it eager--calmly, already committing the digits to memory as he stuck the paper into his pocket. “Alright, if you say so.” he watched as the other seemed to still be writing in his notebook, and leaned over a little to read. “Do you need my number?”
Jaejoong shook his head, waving his hand to say he didn’t. “This is just for the project. If you need to ask me something or…vice-versa. Otherwise I’ll just wait until we have class; your number will show up if you call anyway.” Tch, right, as if he wanted Yunho calling him…. He hadn’t looked up to notice how close, or how nosey Yunho was getting, too involved with whatever he was scribbling. There was no point in getting into the assignment now; there was only a little while until the bell and class was pretty much over now. It was only until warm breath stirred his bangs that he noticed with alarm.
“Hey, are you writing lyrics?” Yunho asked, trying to see. Jaejoong jumped, leaning back and taking his notebook with him. He glared.
“It’s nothing. Could you try staying in your own bubble of space?” he snapped. Yunho was about to retort when the bell suddenly rang, interrupting the other students who had been goofing off or talking about their project. Jaejoong gathered his things and stood, glancing at the younger male sternly. “See you when I see you.” he said curtly, before turning on his heel and leaving the classroom with the rest of the students.
Yunho gave an exasperated sigh before gathering his things and leaving as well. What the hell had that been about? He glanced at the door of the emptying classroom, as if he could follow the path Jaejoong had gone. Did the blond write songs or poetry? He’d only been trying to make conversation… And earlier… he couldn’t be sure, but for a moment when Jaejoong had been talking about the Chemists, he didn’t think they had been talking about the same thing…
~__***__~
“You think he’s hiding something? Well no shit, Yunho, exes aren‘t usually first on the list of people you tell secrets too.”
“Smart ass. I’m just saying, he’s not exactly social.”
“Maybe not with you; I get along just fine with him.”
“You and Changmin are my friends, how come I’m the one who gets the brush off or attitude?”
“I don’t know hyung, maybe because you guys used to date, and now you don’t? You dumped him, remember?” Changmin said from his line.
Yoochun laughed on the other end of their three way call. “I’m telling you, you’re thinking way too hard on this. How bored are you, man?”
“Min, I told you once already; it was a clean break up. No tears, no attachments. It was never serious to begin with. And Yoochun, maybe I’ve have had less to do because I’ve rarely seen my best friend.” He could feel the other wince over the phone.
“Yunho, I’m sorry. I think I’ve just been too excited. You know I’ve never been with someone as long as I have with Junsu. I think this is pretty solid; my other half.”
Yunho snorted. “If you ask me, you should keep looking; just to be sure.”
“…” Changmin focused on the wall of his bedroom, staying away from that comment even though this wasn’t a face to face conversation.
“Okay, what is with you two? Don’t think I haven’t noticed; Junsu doesn’t exactly think highly of you, probably because of the past between you and Jaejoong, but why don’t you like him?”
“‘Doesn’t think highly of me’? Are you kidding? He hates me, Chun--for reasons I don’t know why--and when was the last time you liked someone who’d rather see you under the tires of their car?”
“……Dude, you are way too high strung. You need some relaxation--Heeey…”
Yunho and Changmin frowned at the trail off, wondering what he was up too.
“Yoochun, what--”
“Min. Yunho. Clubbing. Tonight. No buts; Min don’t even tell me you have homework--” The youngest closed his mouth. “--Yunho, put on your best and meet me at Club Zodiac no later than 10:30.” Click.
There was a silence as the three way turned into a normal two-way connection, leaving the remaining friends speechless on the either end.
“…Um…”
“…Hyung…should we go?”
“What, or not show and have Yoochun pestering us about it for the rest of the week?”
“…Good point…”
“Later then.” Click.
“Wait, hyung, do you think he’s going alon--hyung?…sigh…” Click.
~__***__~
It was ten-no, twenty minutes into this little clubbing arrangement--twenty minutes--and already he was ready to scream. The club was full to the brim; filled with numerous bodies taking up the dance floor and others lounging against walls or hanging at the bar, having come too late to grab one of the few private tables. The bass of the song that was playing at the moment, was reverberating through the very soles of his feet. It was humid, despite the low AC that was blowing in from the vents in the ceiling. The multi-colored strobe lights were starting to give him a headache, the alcohol wasn’t improving his mood, Changmin had gone off to dance with a friend he said he knew from another school, and Yoochun had excused himself off to get drinks…meaning that he’d been left with the one reason he wasn’t enjoying this night as he usually would have.
Junsu eyed him over his clear glass goblet as he drained the last of his Piña Colada; he’d been doing so ever since Yoochun had left to push his way to the bar. It was starting to get on his nerves.
“What?” he demanded after enduring the look for another minute. Junsu continued to stare neutrally at him, as he sat his empty glass down on the table that separated them and stretched. The action probably would have gained him a few looks, had they not been in one of the private and large round-booths set into the walls of the club. The auburn-haired male’s choice of clothing had gotten him a few set stares when he had first arrived; a dark, hooded tank top that clung to him in all the right places and a pair of tight jeans with boots that reached mid calf. Yoochun had put and end to that right away, but Yunho wouldn’t know that, since he had arrived only twenty minutes ago and Had. Not. Been. Expecting. Junsu.
He really should’ve known better. Yoochun might have been doing this for ‘his sake’, but who had ever said that meant Junsu wasn’t in the equation? Yunho hadn’t specified just a Friday night out with the trio of friends, and not the tag along.
“I thought Chunnie said you were here to relax.” Still look like an uptight prick to me. He just knew that’s what the guy was thinking, even if he didn’t know how that was possible. He did want to know how a person managed to make ‘Chunnie’ sound kind and sweet in the middle of a curt and flat sentence, however.
Yunho glared. “I am relaxed.” he lied. Junsu snorted and turned away, watching the strobe lit dance floor. “What is your problem?”
“…Problem?” the younger male echoed.
“Yes,” Yunho said, crossing his arms. “Your problem with me. What did I ever do to you?”
Junsu stared at him again in that irritating way, saying nothing. Then, “…Bastard.”
“What--”
“You know, one day this club is going to get shut down,” Yoochun placed a tray of drinks down on the table as he sat down, unknowingly interrupting a possible fight. A winded Changmin trailed behind, drained from dancing, and plopped down next to Yunho. “I know we might look 19, but I know for a fact that the kid who ordered drinks after me had to be no more than 15.” he shook his head, resting an arm around Junsu’s shoulders. When no one answered to his comment, he looked at the two puzzled. “What’s with the silence?”
Junsu smiled. “Nothing, Chunnie. I was just thinking. Did they make my drink?” Yoochun returned the smile and reached for the tray he’d brought. Changmin watched Yunho closely as he grabbed his own drink.
“Yup,” he handed over a cocktail glass filled with a bright concoction. “A Mandarin Daiquiri for you, two shots of Soju for Min and Yunho, a Mai Tai for me…, and ugh, this drink that I cannot believe I just ordered…” he set the blood red drink at the end of the table, …where no one was sitting. Yunho frowned, taking a break from his silent fuming to mentally count, and then rose an eyebrow at his best friend.
“Five drinks? Who else is here?”
Yoochun rose both eyebrows in response. “Jaejoong. Who else?” he shrugged. “I thought you’d realize that since Junsu is here…”
Yunho looked around, unable to spot nothing but a mesh of bodies dancing under the flashing lights. “Where is he, then?” turning back at the table, he swore he caught Junsu grinning for a split second.
“Oh,” Junsu’s eyes flickered to the side, then back down to his drink. “…He’s around.”
Yoochun caught the action from where he sat close, and glanced in the same direction as a new beat flooded the club speakers, possibly with more bass then before. His eyes widened before he let out an impressed laugh. “Damn, Su, have you been teaching Jaejoong about S-lines?” Junsu stuck out his tongue, but smirked nonetheless.
“…Maybe.”
Confused, Changmin and Yunho both tried to follow their line of vision. Changmin’s eyes got large, while Yunho was both thrilled at what he found and now fuming again.
The new rhythm of the song playing was catchy, constant and smooth. Those dancing on the floor adapted quickly, changing up their style of dance in a heartbeat. Yunho had no idea how Jaejoong had been dancing before, but it couldn’t have been better than the sight before him. The lithe blond’s hair was either stylishly ruffled, or wild from dancing. The strobe light colors played off of his pale locks and dangling earrings as sweat trailed down his neck and onto the low collar of the tight, black wife beater he wore. The shirt showcased his pierced navel perfectly, teasing with the bare glimpse of skin. Loose, ripped jeans hung sinfully low on his hips, those same hips that were gyrating in ways that had to be illegal. The vision would have been imprinted in his mind forever, if it weren’t for one dismaying fact: Jaejoong was grinding against his dance partner; some guy for all he could tell (he was wearing a cap low that covered his face, damn), and he seemed to be having a good time.
…When the hell had he learned to dance like that?!?
He wasn’t as surprised, seeing as how many other things were different now, but…so many changes…how much more was there to this Jaejoong? Had it not been so…so…immoral, he would have thought it was two friends having fun on the dance floor. That was far too intimate for friends--since when did friends dance like that together?
“W-what,” he managed to utter a sound. “What does he think he’s doing, dancing with a guy like that!?” he said, unknowingly turning to Junsu for the answer. It was his cousin, after all.
Junsu glared coldly, setting down his Daiquiri gently, lest he spill it. “On this planet, it’s usually considered normal to dance with your own boyfriend however you want.” Yunho blinked.
Wait…boyfriend? He glanced back at the dancing duo, trying valiantly hard to ignore Jaejoong’s slim, grinding hips and focus on the guy behind him, who had his arm looped around the other male’s waist. Boyfriend, that was--?
“That’s…Jaejoong’s boyfriend?” the words left an odd taste in his mouth. He didn’t know why.
“Yup.” Junsu sipped his drink to hide the smile that was threatening to break out. “Set them up myself. Going two and a half years now.”
…Well at least he had a valid reason to hate Junsu back now. Yunho bit the inside of his jaw, averting his eyes from the dance floor. He would never admit it, but he was jealous. Completely and absolutely jealous. He’d dated Jaejoong before; why wasn’t that him out there dancing with the gorgeous blond? Changmin coughed delicately into his hand, sliding the other’s untouched shot towards him.
“You need to relax, hyung. We’re here to have fun, remember? You’re usually always on the dance floor.”
Yunho sighed, taking the proffered drink and swallowing it in one go. “I know, I know.” he mumbled.
The time passed uneventfully, and the next time he dared to glance in the direction Jaejoong had been, the blond and his partner were gone. He tried to enjoy himself, even leaving to find his own dance partner. Many girls caught his eye, and he even danced for a while, but he found his focus straying and eventually gave up altogether. The now thoroughly bored male ordered himself a drink at the bar and stalked back to the private booth. A flash of retreating blond grabbed his attention, walking ahead in the same direction he was headed.
‘And so he returns,’ thought Yunho. He followed quietly; not a hard thing to do when you were in a packed club full of loud music. He and Jaejoong reached the table with only a 30-second lapse between them; the latter didn’t look too surprised to see him as he sat beside Yoochun, but he didn’t say anything and merely reached for his untouched drink. Yunho took his own seat beside Changmin and watched as the other easily mingled with his friends. So different and carefree than in school…
Jaejoong laughed at the frown Yoochun had tossed him as he took a sip of his drink. “What is it, Yoochun?” he asked, amused. It wasn’t noticeable unless one was close, but a thin line of kohl outlined his obsidian eyes perfectly. Yoochun shook his head, still eyeing the blood red drink warily.
“I thought it was called a ‘Bloody Mary’; what the hell did you get by ordering a ‘Bloody Geisha’?” he questioned. His given reply was a roll of the eyes, as the blond gave a small, tired smile.
“A Bloody Geisha is a Bloody Mary, sans the vodka and with sake instead.”
Yoochun stuck out his tongue, preferring his own simple Mai Tai. “Bleh. Too complicated a drink.”
“At least I didn’t ask you for a Bloody Fairy…” Jaejoong murmured.
“A what?” Junsu laughed, leaning against his boyfriend.
“Absinthe.” he stated simply with a wink. “He’s exaggerating; neither of us have ever drunken heavily. That’s why we like cocktails. Dongwook’s the same way…” he looked around, noticing something for the first time. “Hey, Jae, where’s Dong?”
Yunho discreetly glanced around as well, having been too occupied with his Jaejoong ogling. Slyly, Changmin stole his drink while he was distracted.
Jaejoong shrugged, stirring his drink with the straw it had come with. “He had to go; busy day at the studio tomorrow and all. He and Taebin have it rough sometimes.” there was still a smile on his face as Junsu made a disapproving noise and shook his head.
“He works too hard.”
“I’m glad he came, anyway. We still had time to talk, even while we were dancing. I needed that.” Yunho decided to keep his own disapproving noise to himself; he seriously doubted people had time to talk about much in that sort of position. Changmin, proving himself to be much more daring, decided otherwise.
“Didn’t look like there was much conversation going on to me…other than body language of course.” he grinned cheekily. Jaejoong plucked one of the garnishes from his drink and flung it at him playfully, a faint blush hidden by the dim club lights.
“Don’t mock your elders.” A mischievous look. “You just want to dance with me yourself, don’t you?” It was now Changmin’s turn to blush, as he stuttered and YooSu laughed.
‘I do.’ Yunho thought shamelessly. He was starting to feel like a third--fifth wheel. He hated that feeling; why did it seem as if he weren’t even here?
Yoochun grinned, joining in on the teasing. “Sorry Jaejoong, Min already has a dance partner. I saw him and his little friend getting into it earlier.” The youngest gaped at him.
“We were not. He’s a friend.” It wasn’t hard to tell now that his blush had deepened.
“Nope, I’m pretty sure it was steadily getting heated. In fact, you should ask him. Here he comes now.” Yoochun pointed, gaining the others’ attentions as they turned to look as well.
Changmin rolled his eyes, not even bothering. “If you think I’m going to fall for that--”
“Changmin!” the tall male blinked, turning slowly to see the boy who was actually standing there; a drink in one hand as he panted tiredly. “I was looking for you. You forgot to tell me where you and your friends were sitting.”
Blinking for a good couple of seconds, the brunet jolted back into focus and grinned sheepishly. “Sorry; it must have slipped my mind.” the admission gained him two looks from his closest friends; he hardly forgot anything with his constant little ‘smart guy’ status. “Um, these are my friends: Yoochun, Junsu, Yunho, and Jaejoong.” he pointed to each in turn, before pointing at the still standing male. “Guys, this is my friend Keita. He‘s a transfer at his school from Japan.”
The Kim cousins waved back when Keita gave a small one in greeting; Yunho gave a distracted nod while Yoochun merely snickered and eyed Changmin with amusement. “Well, aren’t you going to let your ‘friend’ sit down, Min?”
Changmin’s eyes widened in alarm and he hurriedly pulled (read: yanked) Yunho over to make room in their little semi-circle. Keita giggled and took a seat gratefully.
“Thanks, I’ve been pushing my way through this club for the longest time.” he downed the rest of his drink. Changmin started to open his mouth, but the smaller male beat him to it. “Don’t even start to apologize, I told you that you have a bad habit of doing that a lot.” One mouth closed, another gaped.
“Whaaaat?” Yoochun jerked a finger at the brunet. “Him? We can hardly get him to admit he’s actually wrong about anything, let alone apologize for little things.” he smirked suddenly. “I’d ask what’s your secret, but I think I already know.” He ignored the glare that was shot his way.
Keita cocked his head cutely. “What?”
“I said--” PAIN. “OW!” Yoochun jerked his legs out of kicking reach, pouting. “Su~” he turned to his boyfriend who had been quietly laughing. “I think my knee caps were just assaulted.” He pulled the kicked puppy look, eliciting a giggle from his love.
“Aw, you poor thing.” Junsu kissed him chastely. Yunho denied himself the pleasure of gagging. “Why don’t we see if your legs can still work then; I want to dance.” When Yoochun nodded, he gently steered his boyfriend to escape the booth. Jaejoong stood up to let them out, trading smirks with his cousin as the latter developed the usual confident look he gained before going out on the dance floor. He plopped down to watch them with a grin. Once standing, Junsu grasped his boyfriend by the collar of his open shirt, gently tugging him along. Yoochun followed more than willingly, watching with familiar interest as Junsu’s walking steps were already matching the thrumming beat of the music. He let himself be led until they were well within the throng of bodies, and pulled his auburn haired cutie in close to dance. The rest of the people around them couldn’t have mattered less.
“They look really cute together,” Keita remarked, watching them move. Changmin nodded with a smile, just barely catching Jaejoong’s parting words about wanting a more fruitier drink before he disappeared into the crowd. Silently, Yunho sulked, refusing to stare anywhere else except the wall. His night was worse than it had started out; not just because he was now the sixth wheel, or that he still didn’t know why he was hated by his best friend’s boyfriend, or even because he was admittedly jealous of one Choi Dong Wook and intrigued by Kim Jaejoong…
Never, ever, ever, in a million years, would he admit, that Yoochun had been right; Junsu had one hell of an S-line.
~__***__~
The club outing had been rated a success by them all (well, one would differ but who was literally counting votes here), despite the ‘unable-to-drive-inebriated-so-lets-all-call-a-cab-and-pick-our-cars-up-in-the-morning’ downside, and a pattern began to fall into place. The little group outings had started to turn into a rather common occurrence now; Yoochun would get an idea, Junsu would approve and follow, Jaejoong on rare occasion would get Dongwook to come along with him, Changmin would go for funs sake, only to sit around and sigh wistfully (which got him a round of teasing), and Yunho tried his hardest to enjoy it. It wasn’t an easy feat, when one of them was the guy you couldn’t touch, and the other hated you with absolute passion and yet both got along with the rest so well. It was maddening.
How had his life gotten this complicated so quickly? If Yoochun would just dump Junsu…
“Chunnie! I’m serious, give me that phone!” said male cried, refusing to let himself smile as the other shook his head, keeping his arm out of reach.
“What, and let you delete the adorable photo I just took of you?”
“Yes!”
“Nope.”
“Chunnie!”
They were on one of those ‘lovely outings’ right now; Yoochun had gotten it into his head that today was a perfect day to go swimming. They were all taking a short walk to the beach from the park that they had met up at, ‘all’ meaning the five of them: Yoochun, Junsu, Yunho, Jaejoong and Changmin. Idly, the third one switched his gaze away from the sick lovebirds to glance back, spying on the last two.
Changmin was doing the most talking, while Jaejoong nodded, listening as he fiddled with his cell phone in his hands. It seemed as if he was concentrating between two different things; texting and conversing. A sudden ring interrupted them both, coming from the cell he’d been busy texting with. Changmin stopped talking out of courtesy, and Yunho turned away when Jaejoong looked up, answering his phone with a ‘Yeoboseyo’. He couldn’t hear the conversation, but after a few minutes he was joined by his dongsaeng.
“Something wrong?” he asked casually.
Changmin shook his head, glancing back. “No, I just thought he might want a little privacy.” A sigh caught their attention, and the two turned to see Junsu and Yoochun looking back at Jaejoong as well.
“What’s wrong, Su?” his boyfriend questioned. The shorter male shook his head and turned back to the path they walked, lowering his voice for only the two of them.
“Dongwook couldn’t come. I wasn’t kidding when I said he worked too hard; Jaejoong had been hoping he could go but he had to cancel at the last minute.” he whispered.
Feet behind them, Yunho’s ears perked. Junsu may have meant not to be heard, but his voice happened to carry, letting him in on their words. Two eyebrows rose as he glanced back, watching Jaejoong as the blond quickened his pace to catch up with the group. He was still on the phone; his tone low and his face forlorn.
“Dongwook, I told you already, it’s okay. I know you have a lot of work today; it’s fine.”
“I know, but it’s easier for you to hide behind text messages, Jae. At least if I call you, I can listen to your tone of voice.”
Sigh. “You worry too much.”
“I’ve been your best friend for at least three years. I’m supposed to.” A small smile graced Jaejoong’s face at that.
“Okay, I’ll give you that one…” he could hear someone calling for Dongwook on the other end. Break must be over. “…Bring me back some Chinese?”
“If you bring me back a shell from the beach.”
Laugh. “Okay, I will. …Bye.”
“It had better be a big shiny one too!” Dongwook called as he hung up. “Bye, Jae.” Click.
Jaejoong closed his phone with a ‘snap’, sticking his hands into his pockets as he walked. Since he already knew where they were headed, he didn’t bother to look up as they walked. If he had, he would have seen the interested look in Yunho’s eyes.
‘Trouble in paradise, Jaejoong?’ he thought to himself, half-listening as Changmin had started to talk about the delicious chocolate chip cookies his mother had baked just the other day. ‘Hn, maybe there’s still a chance after all…’ He hadn’t wanted to mess with a relationship if it was solid and without any problems, but he’d noticed when Jaejoong smiled that it didn’t reach his eyes. Everything wasn’t fine like the blond had claimed. He was saddened that Dongwook hadn’t been able to come, and if his rare times with them were any indication, it wasn’t an unusual thing.
He smiled. It seemed like his day was looking a bit brighter than before.
***
*Collapses* Oh thank the deities! I finished, after so long, and at 13 pages as well. NEW RECORD >O
Forgive me for making you guys wait so long. I just recently got back all the inspiration for this fic. Some things that came up with Meta’s direction and the outline clashed, and left me flailing for a solution. I spent a good two hours one day lounging on my bed and rocking out on my new Ipod (because when I’m stuck I need blasts of music to dislodge me, not my sweet catchy ballads :P) Finally, I made it, I finished, and most of all, I’m pleased with how it turned out. Hope you enjoyed.
Also, I know someone was worried in the previous chapter about if I was going to make Dongwook a jerk in this one. No, I’m not. This chapter probably didn’t help that train of thought, but no, I was not so predictable as to make the guy some secret cheating jerk. He couldn’t have been Jae’s best friend for so long if he was two-faced…not under Junsu’s protective eye o_O;; I listened to Beenie Man’s “King of the Dancehall” for the club scene :D Screw the words, I just thought the beat fit quite nicely even thought I’m not a fan of the man’s work.
P.S, I know, Yunho’s still insufferable. If you haven’t noticed just yet, (Read Title) this story is about change. Jae has done his, but Yunho has yet to. They can’t possibly be together until then, either. Yunho has to be knocked from his pedestal, beaten with some sense, had his eyes opened and feel something, …then he has a chance. XD
I’m off! More things to write, so little time.
Length: Series
Author: LadyDusk_Raku
Rating: PG-13/16
Genre: Drama, Romance, flecks of Humor, AU
Pairings: Eventual Jaeho, Yoosu, (implied) Changta
Summary: Jung Yunho was the top choice for dating in Junior High, and yet he dated one Kim Jaejoong for his pretty face, just to prove he could get anyone. He dumped him at the end of the year, never expecting to see him again, especially not his senior year of High School; a whole new person. Now that he wants to rekindle an old flame, how long will it take him to realize Jae’s appearance isn’t the only thing that’s changed, and that the boy isn’t up for games any longer?
A/N: You guys are awesome. Seriously. :D
So much support from you lovelies. Sorry for the extreme wait~ *hides from
erinastrid * -cough-
This chapter in the outline was reconfigured. XP I decided it was way too short and needed a kick. Please tell me if it goes too fast. Looking at the outline, maybe it’s the fact that I am the creator and I know the whole thing, but it feels that way. I hope it’s not however and that this chapter helps a bit. ^ ^
<33!
~.:Metamorphosis:.~
Chapter o3.
Textbooks, pens, pencils, a calculator, and a ten page report from the previous night’s homework went clattering to the floor. Yunho watched on patiently as the shorter boy gawked openly at him like a dying fish. He managed to close it in an effort to lessen looking like fool, and quickly knelt to gather his things.
Jaejoong gulped once; his mouth was dry. “E-Excuse me?” he stuttered. Yunho sighed, switching his backpack onto the opposite shoulder.
“I said, ‘Go out with me’.” he looked at the other curiously. “What’s the matter, you don’t like guys?”
Well, you didn’t hear that every day.
Jaejoong blushed heavily and stood, head bowed. “T-that’s not it.” God, why did Jung Yunho of all people have to confront him like this? He got nervous whenever he was put on the spot.
“Eh? Is it me then?” Yunho asked, although one could tell even he doubted that. The pretty brunet flushed, if possible, even more and shook his head.
“No, no! It’s not that, of course. I…I just didn’t expect it.” he murmured. The taller boy shrugged; that was no big deal. In fact, that was a good sign. This boy definitely wouldn’t be confident enough to try cheating on him like his last girl friend. It was his best idea yet.
“Well, whatever. Are you gonna go out with me or what, Jaejoong ah?” he asked familiarly.
Jaejoong blushed again at the sound of his name. So informal… “Um…I guess so--I mean…okay.”
Yunho nodded. “Good. Ah, you can call me Yunho-hyung if you want.” he added as an afterthought. He hated being called someone’s dongsaeng; it made him feel small, and as one of the popular kids he hated that.
“…Okay.” Jaejoong agreed, although confused. Wasn’t he older than Yunho? Oh well. Yunho nodded again as if he were proud of his accomplishment, and grabbed the thin brunet by the arm.
“C’mon, we have the same first class right?” he tugged him along like a doll. “I always walked my girlfriends to class.”
Jaejoong ‘eep’ed and managed to close his locker door before he was practically dragged along with his new ‘boyfriend’. So much was happening so fast; his head was spinning. “But I’m not a girl--Wait!” he noticed the direction they were heading, and pulled back on Yunho’s arm, causing the other to stop and look at him questioningly. “…Can‘t we go down another way?” he asked pleadingly.
Yunho frowned. “Why?” he looked forward. It was the route he took to his first period every morning. It was where a lot of jocks and other popular kids crowded around (and quite a few bullies but not in Yunho’s case), and with the bell minutes away, there were only a few stragglers waiting until the last second to scoot off to class by the shortest route. He didn’t see why they would go another way.
“Well…” Jaejoong started, embarrassed. “It’s just that…usually, if I go down there I run into trouble--w-what are you doing?!” Yunho had started to tug him along again, as if he hadn’t heard a word.
“Don’t be stupid, no one will mess with you while I’m around.” Yunho said haughtily. Whatever he owned, people didn’t mess with. That was a fact.
Jaejoong blinked, misinterpreting the meaning. “…Oh…” They passed right through the corridor without so much as a glare his way, and he had to admit he was impressed. Did that mean…around Yunho, he wouldn’t have to be hurt anymore? Bullied and pushed around? Being protected…it was a nice feeling.
“Here we are,” Yunho commented, as they reached the classroom just in time. He dropped the other’s hand as they went to their separate seats; Jaejoong noted already that there were some girls glaring in his direction jealously. He inwardly shrunk and hurried to his seat, burying his face into a textbook. He hated attention…and yet…there was a smile on his face as he stole a glance in Yunho’s direction.
Maybe things were looking up for him.
***
It had been weeks since the second day of school, and Yunho, was finding himself irritated more and more. The Jaejoong situation was one thing. The guy had a boyfriend; something that he had not expected at all. In reality, he supposed he shouldn’t be surprised. An attractive guy like Jaejoong, single? With all the admirers clawing at his feet, someone was bound to have him, and yet…it irked him to no end. Seeing this ‘Dongwook’ pick Jae up occasionally from school; the two of them bantering or greeting with little kisses and sweet words. He wasn’t…jealous or anything, it was just that Jaejoong was still in his system, and he had yet to rid of it. If he had known that thin boy with the glasses would turn out this way…he probably would’ve held onto him a while longer.
He sighed, leaning against a tree in the schoolyard. A quick glance around told him there was still no sign of his best friend, and he frowned. That was another problem as of late. This ‘infatuation’ Yoochun had with Junsu was becoming a problem. It had already passed the three week mark that his best friend’s relationships usually crumbled around, and Junsu was still around. It was horrifying for him, exhilarating for Yoochun. Every time a week passed without a problem, the latter would refuse to get his hopes up, trying some test or check in case the auburn cutie wasn’t the one. Every time, Yunho hoped Junsu would fail and be dropped like a bad habit. Every time, the boy would pass unknowingly; be it the way he didn’t whine like all the other girls before him, how he didn’t cling, nag, or grow jealous too easily, Yoochun approved with a sense of awe.
‘Jeeze, it’s not like he’s a saint.’ Yunho thought. ‘In fact, he’s anything but that.’
Even if he wouldn’t admit it, the real reason he was so jeal--annoyed, was because Junsu was butting in. He was taking up the time that Yoochun usually took to hang out with him, as his best friend. Yunho had a feeling he was doing it on purpose, too.
What the hell…
He sighed, resigned to the fact that he probably wouldn’t see Yoochun before first period. Maybe after…? Yunho pushed off of the tree and headed into the building for his class.
~__***__~
“Now as you all know, the density of a substance is a measure of how much mass is present in a given unit of volume. This formula here…” Ms. Lee’s voice lectured on, boring the students who didn’t have the IQ or attention span for this class. Jaejoong sat in the far back, pencil behind his ear as he only scribbled down a few choice notes with his pen. (He understood most of the lesson, having gone over it beforehand) The blond student rocked his head slowly as if to some smooth melody, before pausing to jot down something on the opposite page of his notebook. He was in a relatively good mood today, although he wasn’t so sure as to why.
A few seats away, Yunho tried hard to concentrate onto the lesson, and not the content look on Jaejoong’s face. He seemed…happy about something? Not overly but…more at ease. The brunet’s face darkened slightly as he thought about it. ‘His boyfriend probably had something to do with it…’ He turned his attention back to the board as his teacher began assigning homework; his mood now opposite of the fair-haired boy nearby.
Ms. Lee pushed up her glasses, clearing her throat as she opened another folder on her desk. Some of the students groaned, suspecting that it was ‘extra credit’ (‘do it or you fail’). She smirked at the muffled complaints, before shooting a sharp look that achieved silence immediately.
“Now that I have your attention,” she said, waving the folder. “I’m going to assure those of you grumbling, that this is not extra credit.” There were cheers of relief before she deadpanned: “It’s a full year project.” Looks of horror.
“Project?” one boy inquired. “What kind of project?”
Ms. Lee began to pass out a sheet to each student as she went down the rows. “These papers that I am handing out, are full instructions and detailed explanations of what you’ll be doing for this assignment.” There were murmurs around the classroom as everyone pondered over it. “There is no exception to not completing this project, lest you contract some rare disease and need to be sent overseas for treatment; you have the entire year to complete this, so don’t feel as if you have to rush.”
Yunho nodded to himself as he received his own sheet; that sounded easy…‘I bet there’s a catch.’
“Despite having all year to do this, you do not have to wait to present your project. Whenever you’re ready, be it a week from now or one week before exams, you can turn in your project to be graded. Now,” she looked around the class. “Are there any questions?”
Jaejoong looked on silently, curious but with no specific questions…however, one thing was puzzling him…
“Ah, Ms. Lee…?” another student asked suddenly.
She looked at him kindly, nodding. “Yes?”
“It says that there are two different opinionated essays to be written about the subject, and then one joined essay with the project…how can we…?”
The chemistry teacher’s eyes twinkled. “Ah yes, that. There is one little thing about this project.” The kids were practically on the edge of their seats now. “You must do it in pairs.” There was a mixture of groans and a few ‘whoops’ of joy. Yunho and Jaejoong unknowingly both cursed in their minds. As top students, that made things all the more difficult. Ms. Lee held up a hand to silence them once again; looking at the happy ones with an eyebrow raised. “Pairs that I will randomly choose.” Once again, groans dominated the atmosphere.
Jaejoong sighed, resting his chin on the palm of his hand. So much for his good mood today. Ms. Lee picked up a small velvet bag, shaking it a few times before reaching in to grab two slips of paper. He winced, wondering who he’d end up with. She read each pair of names quickly, while those who were now partners moved their desks closer or swapped seats with classmates. The more he didn’t hear his name called, the more worried Jaejoong grew. There were only a few students left, and they were either brain-dead when it came to Chemistry, or they were Yunho. He didn’t know which was worse.
Four students were now left. Ms. Lee reached into the bag and pulled out a slip. “Kim Jaejoong...”
Jaejoong clasped his hands together in a silent prayer. ‘Pleeeease. Oh please let me get the ditzy fan girl, please. I can charm her into growing a brain, pleeeeease.’
“…and Jung Yunho.” Jaejoong let his head drop onto his desk. Yunho smiled at having another chance.
‘I had better have killed someone important in a previous life to deserve this,’ the sulking blond thought. The scraping of another desk being pulled near his reached his ears, and he lifted up his head to see the chestnut haired male nearly too close for comfort. He obviously wasn’t as concerned about this as Jaejoong was; how perfect.
Yunho waved the project papers in his hands. “So…you have any idea of who you want to work on?” there was a stupid smile on his face, as he was obviously not disappointed with who he’d been partnered with. Jaejoong frowned, ignoring the question to look at his own assignment directions more clearly.
“We…have to do a project about a famous chemist; research, biography, and three essays. One each, and then a jointed opinion essay. We can do a time line or some kind of chart if we want extra credit to our grade, but it’s not mandatory; our biography has to be presented to the class…” he bit his lip unconsciously, already going over ideas. Yunho stared at the action a good minute or two before he cleared his throat, looking off to the side relaxed.
He slouched down in his seat, throwing his arms behind his head. “This is an easy assignment. I say we go with Albert Einstein; everyone will know who we’re talking about and he’s got a ton of achievements we can write about.” His mood had improved a bit since he’d been partnered up with his newest focus. He didn’t need an excuse to be near him now.
Jaejoong shook his head, a few blond strands falling into his eyes. “No, that’s exactly why we shouldn’t go with Albert Einstein. He’s too easy a topic; everyone else is bound to pick him.”
A sigh. “You have a better choice, then?” Yunho was a good student, but he hated to do something harder when you could get the same results with a more simpler option. As long as they did a great job, the grade would still be the same. The sound of turning pages caught his ear, and he glanced over to see Jaejoong flipping through his chemistry book. The older male stopped somewhere towards the back, trailing a finger down the index and then pausing over a name.
“Yes, this chemist right here. ‘Fritz Haber’; he was a German chemist who received the Nobel Prize in 1918.”
Yunho sat up to look at the name, before shaking his head in disagreement. “That guy? He’s a nobody compared to Albert Einstein and he’s not really famous. No one will know who we’re talking about.”
Jaejoong steeled his jaw, quelling the urge to crack the other upside the head with the textbook. “This is not a popularity contest, Yunho. Fritz Haber may not have had as big an reputation as Albert Einstein, but his story is just as interesting as the next. At least we’ll have originality in our project for not just going with the crowd pleaser.” The chestnut-haired teen blinked. The blond across from him sighed in frustration and rubbed his temples, mumbling.
“…What?” Yunho asked.
“Nothing, I said nothing.” Jaejoong replied, laying his head down. He tapped the pen in his hand against the page in his notebook, sitting up and scribbling something down in one of the blank spaces on that page. “Look, we have plenty of time; just look up the guy when you get home. He’s interesting enough to get us a perfect grade if we do it right, and we wont have to worry about cramming a bunch of extra information like an Albert Einstein project would warrant.” he bit his lip again, thinking over his next words. “I can’t believe I’m doing this, …but here’s my cell phone number.” he ripped out the corner of the paper and handed it over.
Yunho took it eager--calmly, already committing the digits to memory as he stuck the paper into his pocket. “Alright, if you say so.” he watched as the other seemed to still be writing in his notebook, and leaned over a little to read. “Do you need my number?”
Jaejoong shook his head, waving his hand to say he didn’t. “This is just for the project. If you need to ask me something or…vice-versa. Otherwise I’ll just wait until we have class; your number will show up if you call anyway.” Tch, right, as if he wanted Yunho calling him…. He hadn’t looked up to notice how close, or how nosey Yunho was getting, too involved with whatever he was scribbling. There was no point in getting into the assignment now; there was only a little while until the bell and class was pretty much over now. It was only until warm breath stirred his bangs that he noticed with alarm.
“Hey, are you writing lyrics?” Yunho asked, trying to see. Jaejoong jumped, leaning back and taking his notebook with him. He glared.
“It’s nothing. Could you try staying in your own bubble of space?” he snapped. Yunho was about to retort when the bell suddenly rang, interrupting the other students who had been goofing off or talking about their project. Jaejoong gathered his things and stood, glancing at the younger male sternly. “See you when I see you.” he said curtly, before turning on his heel and leaving the classroom with the rest of the students.
Yunho gave an exasperated sigh before gathering his things and leaving as well. What the hell had that been about? He glanced at the door of the emptying classroom, as if he could follow the path Jaejoong had gone. Did the blond write songs or poetry? He’d only been trying to make conversation… And earlier… he couldn’t be sure, but for a moment when Jaejoong had been talking about the Chemists, he didn’t think they had been talking about the same thing…
~__***__~
“You think he’s hiding something? Well no shit, Yunho, exes aren‘t usually first on the list of people you tell secrets too.”
“Smart ass. I’m just saying, he’s not exactly social.”
“Maybe not with you; I get along just fine with him.”
“You and Changmin are my friends, how come I’m the one who gets the brush off or attitude?”
“I don’t know hyung, maybe because you guys used to date, and now you don’t? You dumped him, remember?” Changmin said from his line.
Yoochun laughed on the other end of their three way call. “I’m telling you, you’re thinking way too hard on this. How bored are you, man?”
“Min, I told you once already; it was a clean break up. No tears, no attachments. It was never serious to begin with. And Yoochun, maybe I’ve have had less to do because I’ve rarely seen my best friend.” He could feel the other wince over the phone.
“Yunho, I’m sorry. I think I’ve just been too excited. You know I’ve never been with someone as long as I have with Junsu. I think this is pretty solid; my other half.”
Yunho snorted. “If you ask me, you should keep looking; just to be sure.”
“…” Changmin focused on the wall of his bedroom, staying away from that comment even though this wasn’t a face to face conversation.
“Okay, what is with you two? Don’t think I haven’t noticed; Junsu doesn’t exactly think highly of you, probably because of the past between you and Jaejoong, but why don’t you like him?”
“‘Doesn’t think highly of me’? Are you kidding? He hates me, Chun--for reasons I don’t know why--and when was the last time you liked someone who’d rather see you under the tires of their car?”
“……Dude, you are way too high strung. You need some relaxation--Heeey…”
Yunho and Changmin frowned at the trail off, wondering what he was up too.
“Yoochun, what--”
“Min. Yunho. Clubbing. Tonight. No buts; Min don’t even tell me you have homework--” The youngest closed his mouth. “--Yunho, put on your best and meet me at Club Zodiac no later than 10:30.” Click.
There was a silence as the three way turned into a normal two-way connection, leaving the remaining friends speechless on the either end.
“…Um…”
“…Hyung…should we go?”
“What, or not show and have Yoochun pestering us about it for the rest of the week?”
“…Good point…”
“Later then.” Click.
“Wait, hyung, do you think he’s going alon--hyung?…sigh…” Click.
~__***__~
It was ten-no, twenty minutes into this little clubbing arrangement--twenty minutes--and already he was ready to scream. The club was full to the brim; filled with numerous bodies taking up the dance floor and others lounging against walls or hanging at the bar, having come too late to grab one of the few private tables. The bass of the song that was playing at the moment, was reverberating through the very soles of his feet. It was humid, despite the low AC that was blowing in from the vents in the ceiling. The multi-colored strobe lights were starting to give him a headache, the alcohol wasn’t improving his mood, Changmin had gone off to dance with a friend he said he knew from another school, and Yoochun had excused himself off to get drinks…meaning that he’d been left with the one reason he wasn’t enjoying this night as he usually would have.
Junsu eyed him over his clear glass goblet as he drained the last of his Piña Colada; he’d been doing so ever since Yoochun had left to push his way to the bar. It was starting to get on his nerves.
“What?” he demanded after enduring the look for another minute. Junsu continued to stare neutrally at him, as he sat his empty glass down on the table that separated them and stretched. The action probably would have gained him a few looks, had they not been in one of the private and large round-booths set into the walls of the club. The auburn-haired male’s choice of clothing had gotten him a few set stares when he had first arrived; a dark, hooded tank top that clung to him in all the right places and a pair of tight jeans with boots that reached mid calf. Yoochun had put and end to that right away, but Yunho wouldn’t know that, since he had arrived only twenty minutes ago and Had. Not. Been. Expecting. Junsu.
He really should’ve known better. Yoochun might have been doing this for ‘his sake’, but who had ever said that meant Junsu wasn’t in the equation? Yunho hadn’t specified just a Friday night out with the trio of friends, and not the tag along.
“I thought Chunnie said you were here to relax.” Still look like an uptight prick to me. He just knew that’s what the guy was thinking, even if he didn’t know how that was possible. He did want to know how a person managed to make ‘Chunnie’ sound kind and sweet in the middle of a curt and flat sentence, however.
Yunho glared. “I am relaxed.” he lied. Junsu snorted and turned away, watching the strobe lit dance floor. “What is your problem?”
“…Problem?” the younger male echoed.
“Yes,” Yunho said, crossing his arms. “Your problem with me. What did I ever do to you?”
Junsu stared at him again in that irritating way, saying nothing. Then, “…Bastard.”
“What--”
“You know, one day this club is going to get shut down,” Yoochun placed a tray of drinks down on the table as he sat down, unknowingly interrupting a possible fight. A winded Changmin trailed behind, drained from dancing, and plopped down next to Yunho. “I know we might look 19, but I know for a fact that the kid who ordered drinks after me had to be no more than 15.” he shook his head, resting an arm around Junsu’s shoulders. When no one answered to his comment, he looked at the two puzzled. “What’s with the silence?”
Junsu smiled. “Nothing, Chunnie. I was just thinking. Did they make my drink?” Yoochun returned the smile and reached for the tray he’d brought. Changmin watched Yunho closely as he grabbed his own drink.
“Yup,” he handed over a cocktail glass filled with a bright concoction. “A Mandarin Daiquiri for you, two shots of Soju for Min and Yunho, a Mai Tai for me…, and ugh, this drink that I cannot believe I just ordered…” he set the blood red drink at the end of the table, …where no one was sitting. Yunho frowned, taking a break from his silent fuming to mentally count, and then rose an eyebrow at his best friend.
“Five drinks? Who else is here?”
Yoochun rose both eyebrows in response. “Jaejoong. Who else?” he shrugged. “I thought you’d realize that since Junsu is here…”
Yunho looked around, unable to spot nothing but a mesh of bodies dancing under the flashing lights. “Where is he, then?” turning back at the table, he swore he caught Junsu grinning for a split second.
“Oh,” Junsu’s eyes flickered to the side, then back down to his drink. “…He’s around.”
Yoochun caught the action from where he sat close, and glanced in the same direction as a new beat flooded the club speakers, possibly with more bass then before. His eyes widened before he let out an impressed laugh. “Damn, Su, have you been teaching Jaejoong about S-lines?” Junsu stuck out his tongue, but smirked nonetheless.
“…Maybe.”
Confused, Changmin and Yunho both tried to follow their line of vision. Changmin’s eyes got large, while Yunho was both thrilled at what he found and now fuming again.
The new rhythm of the song playing was catchy, constant and smooth. Those dancing on the floor adapted quickly, changing up their style of dance in a heartbeat. Yunho had no idea how Jaejoong had been dancing before, but it couldn’t have been better than the sight before him. The lithe blond’s hair was either stylishly ruffled, or wild from dancing. The strobe light colors played off of his pale locks and dangling earrings as sweat trailed down his neck and onto the low collar of the tight, black wife beater he wore. The shirt showcased his pierced navel perfectly, teasing with the bare glimpse of skin. Loose, ripped jeans hung sinfully low on his hips, those same hips that were gyrating in ways that had to be illegal. The vision would have been imprinted in his mind forever, if it weren’t for one dismaying fact: Jaejoong was grinding against his dance partner; some guy for all he could tell (he was wearing a cap low that covered his face, damn), and he seemed to be having a good time.
…When the hell had he learned to dance like that?!?
He wasn’t as surprised, seeing as how many other things were different now, but…so many changes…how much more was there to this Jaejoong? Had it not been so…so…immoral, he would have thought it was two friends having fun on the dance floor. That was far too intimate for friends--since when did friends dance like that together?
“W-what,” he managed to utter a sound. “What does he think he’s doing, dancing with a guy like that!?” he said, unknowingly turning to Junsu for the answer. It was his cousin, after all.
Junsu glared coldly, setting down his Daiquiri gently, lest he spill it. “On this planet, it’s usually considered normal to dance with your own boyfriend however you want.” Yunho blinked.
Wait…boyfriend? He glanced back at the dancing duo, trying valiantly hard to ignore Jaejoong’s slim, grinding hips and focus on the guy behind him, who had his arm looped around the other male’s waist. Boyfriend, that was--?
“That’s…Jaejoong’s boyfriend?” the words left an odd taste in his mouth. He didn’t know why.
“Yup.” Junsu sipped his drink to hide the smile that was threatening to break out. “Set them up myself. Going two and a half years now.”
…Well at least he had a valid reason to hate Junsu back now. Yunho bit the inside of his jaw, averting his eyes from the dance floor. He would never admit it, but he was jealous. Completely and absolutely jealous. He’d dated Jaejoong before; why wasn’t that him out there dancing with the gorgeous blond? Changmin coughed delicately into his hand, sliding the other’s untouched shot towards him.
“You need to relax, hyung. We’re here to have fun, remember? You’re usually always on the dance floor.”
Yunho sighed, taking the proffered drink and swallowing it in one go. “I know, I know.” he mumbled.
The time passed uneventfully, and the next time he dared to glance in the direction Jaejoong had been, the blond and his partner were gone. He tried to enjoy himself, even leaving to find his own dance partner. Many girls caught his eye, and he even danced for a while, but he found his focus straying and eventually gave up altogether. The now thoroughly bored male ordered himself a drink at the bar and stalked back to the private booth. A flash of retreating blond grabbed his attention, walking ahead in the same direction he was headed.
‘And so he returns,’ thought Yunho. He followed quietly; not a hard thing to do when you were in a packed club full of loud music. He and Jaejoong reached the table with only a 30-second lapse between them; the latter didn’t look too surprised to see him as he sat beside Yoochun, but he didn’t say anything and merely reached for his untouched drink. Yunho took his own seat beside Changmin and watched as the other easily mingled with his friends. So different and carefree than in school…
Jaejoong laughed at the frown Yoochun had tossed him as he took a sip of his drink. “What is it, Yoochun?” he asked, amused. It wasn’t noticeable unless one was close, but a thin line of kohl outlined his obsidian eyes perfectly. Yoochun shook his head, still eyeing the blood red drink warily.
“I thought it was called a ‘Bloody Mary’; what the hell did you get by ordering a ‘Bloody Geisha’?” he questioned. His given reply was a roll of the eyes, as the blond gave a small, tired smile.
“A Bloody Geisha is a Bloody Mary, sans the vodka and with sake instead.”
Yoochun stuck out his tongue, preferring his own simple Mai Tai. “Bleh. Too complicated a drink.”
“At least I didn’t ask you for a Bloody Fairy…” Jaejoong murmured.
“A what?” Junsu laughed, leaning against his boyfriend.
“Absinthe.” he stated simply with a wink. “He’s exaggerating; neither of us have ever drunken heavily. That’s why we like cocktails. Dongwook’s the same way…” he looked around, noticing something for the first time. “Hey, Jae, where’s Dong?”
Yunho discreetly glanced around as well, having been too occupied with his Jaejoong ogling. Slyly, Changmin stole his drink while he was distracted.
Jaejoong shrugged, stirring his drink with the straw it had come with. “He had to go; busy day at the studio tomorrow and all. He and Taebin have it rough sometimes.” there was still a smile on his face as Junsu made a disapproving noise and shook his head.
“He works too hard.”
“I’m glad he came, anyway. We still had time to talk, even while we were dancing. I needed that.” Yunho decided to keep his own disapproving noise to himself; he seriously doubted people had time to talk about much in that sort of position. Changmin, proving himself to be much more daring, decided otherwise.
“Didn’t look like there was much conversation going on to me…other than body language of course.” he grinned cheekily. Jaejoong plucked one of the garnishes from his drink and flung it at him playfully, a faint blush hidden by the dim club lights.
“Don’t mock your elders.” A mischievous look. “You just want to dance with me yourself, don’t you?” It was now Changmin’s turn to blush, as he stuttered and YooSu laughed.
‘I do.’ Yunho thought shamelessly. He was starting to feel like a third--fifth wheel. He hated that feeling; why did it seem as if he weren’t even here?
Yoochun grinned, joining in on the teasing. “Sorry Jaejoong, Min already has a dance partner. I saw him and his little friend getting into it earlier.” The youngest gaped at him.
“We were not. He’s a friend.” It wasn’t hard to tell now that his blush had deepened.
“Nope, I’m pretty sure it was steadily getting heated. In fact, you should ask him. Here he comes now.” Yoochun pointed, gaining the others’ attentions as they turned to look as well.
Changmin rolled his eyes, not even bothering. “If you think I’m going to fall for that--”
“Changmin!” the tall male blinked, turning slowly to see the boy who was actually standing there; a drink in one hand as he panted tiredly. “I was looking for you. You forgot to tell me where you and your friends were sitting.”
Blinking for a good couple of seconds, the brunet jolted back into focus and grinned sheepishly. “Sorry; it must have slipped my mind.” the admission gained him two looks from his closest friends; he hardly forgot anything with his constant little ‘smart guy’ status. “Um, these are my friends: Yoochun, Junsu, Yunho, and Jaejoong.” he pointed to each in turn, before pointing at the still standing male. “Guys, this is my friend Keita. He‘s a transfer at his school from Japan.”
The Kim cousins waved back when Keita gave a small one in greeting; Yunho gave a distracted nod while Yoochun merely snickered and eyed Changmin with amusement. “Well, aren’t you going to let your ‘friend’ sit down, Min?”
Changmin’s eyes widened in alarm and he hurriedly pulled (read: yanked) Yunho over to make room in their little semi-circle. Keita giggled and took a seat gratefully.
“Thanks, I’ve been pushing my way through this club for the longest time.” he downed the rest of his drink. Changmin started to open his mouth, but the smaller male beat him to it. “Don’t even start to apologize, I told you that you have a bad habit of doing that a lot.” One mouth closed, another gaped.
“Whaaaat?” Yoochun jerked a finger at the brunet. “Him? We can hardly get him to admit he’s actually wrong about anything, let alone apologize for little things.” he smirked suddenly. “I’d ask what’s your secret, but I think I already know.” He ignored the glare that was shot his way.
Keita cocked his head cutely. “What?”
“I said--” PAIN. “OW!” Yoochun jerked his legs out of kicking reach, pouting. “Su~” he turned to his boyfriend who had been quietly laughing. “I think my knee caps were just assaulted.” He pulled the kicked puppy look, eliciting a giggle from his love.
“Aw, you poor thing.” Junsu kissed him chastely. Yunho denied himself the pleasure of gagging. “Why don’t we see if your legs can still work then; I want to dance.” When Yoochun nodded, he gently steered his boyfriend to escape the booth. Jaejoong stood up to let them out, trading smirks with his cousin as the latter developed the usual confident look he gained before going out on the dance floor. He plopped down to watch them with a grin. Once standing, Junsu grasped his boyfriend by the collar of his open shirt, gently tugging him along. Yoochun followed more than willingly, watching with familiar interest as Junsu’s walking steps were already matching the thrumming beat of the music. He let himself be led until they were well within the throng of bodies, and pulled his auburn haired cutie in close to dance. The rest of the people around them couldn’t have mattered less.
“They look really cute together,” Keita remarked, watching them move. Changmin nodded with a smile, just barely catching Jaejoong’s parting words about wanting a more fruitier drink before he disappeared into the crowd. Silently, Yunho sulked, refusing to stare anywhere else except the wall. His night was worse than it had started out; not just because he was now the sixth wheel, or that he still didn’t know why he was hated by his best friend’s boyfriend, or even because he was admittedly jealous of one Choi Dong Wook and intrigued by Kim Jaejoong…
Never, ever, ever, in a million years, would he admit, that Yoochun had been right; Junsu had one hell of an S-line.
~__***__~
The club outing had been rated a success by them all (well, one would differ but who was literally counting votes here), despite the ‘unable-to-drive-inebriated-so-lets-all-call-a-cab-and-pick-our-cars-up-in-the-morning’ downside, and a pattern began to fall into place. The little group outings had started to turn into a rather common occurrence now; Yoochun would get an idea, Junsu would approve and follow, Jaejoong on rare occasion would get Dongwook to come along with him, Changmin would go for funs sake, only to sit around and sigh wistfully (which got him a round of teasing), and Yunho tried his hardest to enjoy it. It wasn’t an easy feat, when one of them was the guy you couldn’t touch, and the other hated you with absolute passion and yet both got along with the rest so well. It was maddening.
How had his life gotten this complicated so quickly? If Yoochun would just dump Junsu…
“Chunnie! I’m serious, give me that phone!” said male cried, refusing to let himself smile as the other shook his head, keeping his arm out of reach.
“What, and let you delete the adorable photo I just took of you?”
“Yes!”
“Nope.”
“Chunnie!”
They were on one of those ‘lovely outings’ right now; Yoochun had gotten it into his head that today was a perfect day to go swimming. They were all taking a short walk to the beach from the park that they had met up at, ‘all’ meaning the five of them: Yoochun, Junsu, Yunho, Jaejoong and Changmin. Idly, the third one switched his gaze away from the sick lovebirds to glance back, spying on the last two.
Changmin was doing the most talking, while Jaejoong nodded, listening as he fiddled with his cell phone in his hands. It seemed as if he was concentrating between two different things; texting and conversing. A sudden ring interrupted them both, coming from the cell he’d been busy texting with. Changmin stopped talking out of courtesy, and Yunho turned away when Jaejoong looked up, answering his phone with a ‘Yeoboseyo’. He couldn’t hear the conversation, but after a few minutes he was joined by his dongsaeng.
“Something wrong?” he asked casually.
Changmin shook his head, glancing back. “No, I just thought he might want a little privacy.” A sigh caught their attention, and the two turned to see Junsu and Yoochun looking back at Jaejoong as well.
“What’s wrong, Su?” his boyfriend questioned. The shorter male shook his head and turned back to the path they walked, lowering his voice for only the two of them.
“Dongwook couldn’t come. I wasn’t kidding when I said he worked too hard; Jaejoong had been hoping he could go but he had to cancel at the last minute.” he whispered.
Feet behind them, Yunho’s ears perked. Junsu may have meant not to be heard, but his voice happened to carry, letting him in on their words. Two eyebrows rose as he glanced back, watching Jaejoong as the blond quickened his pace to catch up with the group. He was still on the phone; his tone low and his face forlorn.
“Dongwook, I told you already, it’s okay. I know you have a lot of work today; it’s fine.”
“I know, but it’s easier for you to hide behind text messages, Jae. At least if I call you, I can listen to your tone of voice.”
Sigh. “You worry too much.”
“I’ve been your best friend for at least three years. I’m supposed to.” A small smile graced Jaejoong’s face at that.
“Okay, I’ll give you that one…” he could hear someone calling for Dongwook on the other end. Break must be over. “…Bring me back some Chinese?”
“If you bring me back a shell from the beach.”
Laugh. “Okay, I will. …Bye.”
“It had better be a big shiny one too!” Dongwook called as he hung up. “Bye, Jae.” Click.
Jaejoong closed his phone with a ‘snap’, sticking his hands into his pockets as he walked. Since he already knew where they were headed, he didn’t bother to look up as they walked. If he had, he would have seen the interested look in Yunho’s eyes.
‘Trouble in paradise, Jaejoong?’ he thought to himself, half-listening as Changmin had started to talk about the delicious chocolate chip cookies his mother had baked just the other day. ‘Hn, maybe there’s still a chance after all…’ He hadn’t wanted to mess with a relationship if it was solid and without any problems, but he’d noticed when Jaejoong smiled that it didn’t reach his eyes. Everything wasn’t fine like the blond had claimed. He was saddened that Dongwook hadn’t been able to come, and if his rare times with them were any indication, it wasn’t an unusual thing.
He smiled. It seemed like his day was looking a bit brighter than before.
***
*Collapses* Oh thank the deities! I finished, after so long, and at 13 pages as well. NEW RECORD >O
Forgive me for making you guys wait so long. I just recently got back all the inspiration for this fic. Some things that came up with Meta’s direction and the outline clashed, and left me flailing for a solution. I spent a good two hours one day lounging on my bed and rocking out on my new Ipod (because when I’m stuck I need blasts of music to dislodge me, not my sweet catchy ballads :P) Finally, I made it, I finished, and most of all, I’m pleased with how it turned out. Hope you enjoyed.
Also, I know someone was worried in the previous chapter about if I was going to make Dongwook a jerk in this one. No, I’m not. This chapter probably didn’t help that train of thought, but no, I was not so predictable as to make the guy some secret cheating jerk. He couldn’t have been Jae’s best friend for so long if he was two-faced…not under Junsu’s protective eye o_O;; I listened to Beenie Man’s “King of the Dancehall” for the club scene :D Screw the words, I just thought the beat fit quite nicely even thought I’m not a fan of the man’s work.
P.S, I know, Yunho’s still insufferable. If you haven’t noticed just yet, (Read Title) this story is about change. Jae has done his, but Yunho has yet to. They can’t possibly be together until then, either. Yunho has to be knocked from his pedestal, beaten with some sense, had his eyes opened and feel something, …then he has a chance. XD
I’m off! More things to write, so little time.