Loving You Chapter 14
Poster credit to xherodbskx at http://www.artsyasiancrew.co.nr/
Title: Loving You
Author: missyoosu
Length: 14 of ??
Pairings: Junchun (main), JunhoxYoochun (beginning), Yunjae
Disclaimer: I do not own the boys. This story is the work of missyoosu (aka miss_yoosu on winglin). Any resemblance to another fanfic is absolutely coincidental.
Summary: Junho chose Yoochun over his family when his father gave him an ultimatum. After two years of no contact with his family, he is finally returning home with his husband (Yoochun) to visit his mother in the hospital. Will they welcome Yoochun with open arms?
A/N: Once again, a big thank you to both hananoona and sheilapiglet!
Character Profile Prologue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Fictitious characters
Mr. Kim = Kim Sung Ho
Mrs. Kim = Kim Hee Jin
Dr. Jung = Jung Junjin
Note: Yunjae and the Kim twins are two years older than Yoochun in the fic.
Loving You
Chapter 14
Saturday came sooner than Junsu would have liked. He knew he couldn’t ask Yoochun to relay his responsibilities to someone else; the other would never comply to this one request. Silently, he observed the long-haired man before him while he went about tying Junsu’s tie for him. The two of them had returned to their morning routine though their latest encounter never truly left their thoughts. Hee Jin was definitely happy to see them speaking again. She was concerned that she had taken Yoochun away from Junsu since he started working at Hugs & Kisses.
Yoochun seemed unusually quiet this morning.
“What is it?” Junsu finally asked.
“Nothing really. I was just wondering if you would like to learn to tie your own tie, hyungbu?” Yoochun replied.
“Why? You don’t want to do this for your hyungbu every morning?” Junsu countered, wondering why Yoochun wanted to detach himself from him. He was getting accustomed to seeing Yoochun up close and personal like this every morning.
Yoochun shook his head, hands looping the tie. “Ani. It’s just…you can do everything perfectly on your own except for this tiny little thing,” he remarked with a heartily chuckle.
Junsu felt a tightening in his chest. Of all the smiles he had seen from Yoochun so far, the one where Yoochun smiled with downcast eyes was the most beautiful.
“Well, you’re right about that,” Junsu concurred after a moment’s passed.
The long-haired man looked up to his brother-in-law, having knotted the tie in place. Junsu was disappointed these intimate moments he shared with Yoochun never lasted for very long.
“May I ask why?” the younger man asked. Instead of answering, Junsu bent down to pick up his briefcase and walked towards the front door. Yoochun followed behind like a little puppy, anticipating the response.
“If you want to know, you can ask Jaejoong. He seems to be quite the chatterbox ever since he’s met you,” came the snapped reply.
Yoochun was taken aback by the reply. He was only trying to get to know Junsu better. “Please don’t be upset with Jaejoong-hyung. He was only trying to help bring us closer. He meant no harm.”
The pleading look on Yoochun's face caused Junsu's resolve to melt. “I’m not upset,” he stated. “I’m just…” he looked off to the side, a tint of red showing in his cheeks and mumbled the rest of his words, “a little embarrassed to tell you my reason, that’s all.”
Yoochun grinned at how adorable his brother-in-law was. Who knew Junsu was capable of being embarrassed. It was during these brief moments that Yoochun was grateful that the wall between them was no longer there.
~:~:~:~:~
An hour after Junsu left the mansion, Yoochun arrived at the Aria, specifically at the Crystal Ballroom, where the charity banquet was to take place. He was busy the entire time, ensuring set-up and decorations were in their correct place. Not only the ballroom, but the kitchen as well where the chefs were prepping for the dinner as a part of the annual event.
Everything had to go flawlessly, Yoochun reminded himself. Otherwise, the guests will criticize him since he is the director of the Aria's son-in-law and his mishaps will fall on the Kims’ lot.
He had been too engrossed in his work to notice Junsu dropping by a few times throughout the day.
The hotel manager observed from the entrance, appreciating the work and dedication Yoochun was putting into the annual event. It was his first big event as a member of the Kim family. At the same time, he was worried for the younger man with those threats surrounding them. That’s why he had asked security to keep extra close watch on everything and anything today.
“Why don’t you go say hello?” Changmin, still in his disguise, asked next to him, which only reminded Junsu that he wasn’t alone and should head back to work.
“I don’t want to interrupt his work. Let’s go.” He didn’t wait for a reply and started walking towards the elevators.
Changmin smirked to himself as he trailed behind the hotel manager. Junsu could lie to himself, but he couldn’t fool Changmin. He knew Junsu noticed every move Yoochun made and also hoped to be noticed by the younger man, but the reason for that was still a miss to Junsu but not to the smart Changmin.
~:~:~:~:~
Guests, along with Mr. and Mrs. Kim, began arriving around 6:00 pm. The banquet was scheduled to begin at 7:00 pm. It was invitation only and closed to the media.
“You look handsome, son,” Hee Jin commented when Junsu found them at their assigned circular dinner table located in front of center stage.
“Thanks, Umma. You look nice, too,” he told his mother with an affectionate smile.
The three Kims admired the decorations and set up of the room.
“Yoochun did a nice job, didn’t he?” Su Ho commented.
“Yes, he did.” Junsu took a sip from his champagne glass, still standing. “An outstanding job,” Junsu complimented, not only was it elegant but also showed refined taste. In his mind, Junsu was both proud of his brother-in-law and jealous of his late brother for having found such an amazing husband. Those feelings caused him to wonder but only for a fragment of time. His eyes searched for any sign of the long-haired man. He had not seen him for hours, but he knows that Yoochun wasn’t off somewhere by himself. Jaejoong was with him, that much was related to him by the bodyguards keeping watch on the two mentioned men.
Turning his attention back to the table, he finally took notice of the seating arrangement when he noticed his name was nowhere near his parents. Clockwise, it was him, Dr. Jung senior, his dad, and then his mom. Yoochun would be seated next to his mother, follow by Yunho and Jaejoong. He deadpanned; he couldn’t believe Yunho was seated between Yoochun and Jaejoong who was seated between him and Yunho. He never thought a normal dinner seating arrangement could be this cruel. Did Yoochun really want to detach himself that bad? But then again, he was probably reading too much into it.
The Jungs showed up not too long afterwards. The elders greeted each other warmly. Yunho, however, couldn’t help frown upon seeing Junsu sitting comfortably at the table. Before he sat down, he requested a word with the hotelier privately. Junsu stood up and the two of them walked off to the right side of the stage.
“I trust you have a good reason not to be concerned about Yoochun-sshi’s whereabouts.”
“Last I’ve heard, he was with Jaejoong. Nevertheless, I’ve informed the security guards, especially in the security office, to keep extra close watch on my family and friends tonight. They’ll notify me if they see anything suspicious.”
Yunho couldn’t understand why Junsu was so composed when compared to earlier that week when he was hung over, he was the complete opposite. If only the young doctor knew how furious Junsu actually was at that moment and for a completely different reason, too. The hotelier never once stopped worrying for Yoochun’s safety. How dare Yunho even question that. However, Yunho's over concern for the other’s safety made his blood boil. What hope did he hold in regards of his brother-in-law?
“Are you sure you can trust them?” Yunho persisted.
“Yes, I’m sure,” Junsu replied confidently.
The confidence in his friend’s voice was more than enough to kill any doubt he have had. Junsu would never put his friends and family in jeopardy.
“What are you two whispering about over here by yourselves?” making a grand entrance as expected, Jaejoong asked them grinning.
Facing the speaking man, the two were shocked to see standing before them was Jaejoong and Yoochun with identical hair cuts. The length of their hair was just a few centimeters below their earlobes on either side of their faces. The look on their faces was priceless that Jaejoong had to hold his chuckle with his hand. Yoochun couldn’t help but laugh a little at their reaction as well. (A/N: please refer to the character profile for Jaechun's before and after photos of their hair)
The now identical men wore black and white tuxedos, and while Jaejoong’s tux had a little sparkle to it along with a white bowtie, Yoochun’s bowtie was black. Instead of his clear contact lenses, Jaejoong wore blue ones, bringing more attention to his already pretty eyes.
Yunho was beyond mesmerized. How could a man get even more beautiful? Was this sorcery?
Junsu assumed Jaejoong was going all out to win Yunho’s attention. From the look on the doctor’s face, it seemed to be working, fortunately for his best friend’s sake. Jaejoong’s sudden makeover made sense, but he couldn’t quite understand why Yoochun would change his physical appearance, too. Before he could ask him about it, Yoochun excused himself to the stage to begin the event.
The other three took their seats and followed along on the itinerary. They each mentally agreed that it wasn’t much different from the previous years although it did have a different air to it related to the man behind the event . The evening will begin with dinner at 7:00 followed by Mrs. Kim’s speech preceding the auction at 7:30. Then at 8:15, the honor of the first dance went to bidding winners. After the first dance, the floor would be open to everyone. For the remainder of the night, the guests would mingle or talk of business till the event ends at 10:00 all the while enjoying the music provided by the magnificent sound system and the elegant taste of the organizer along with drinks and light appetizers.
Since this was Yoochun’s first time organizing the event, they reckoned he didn’t want to steer too far from the original agenda.
[A/N: I have no idea what happens during these things so it’s just going to be a basic and straight to the point event. Sorry if I made it sound like it was going to be an extravagant event.]
~:~:~:~:~
Yoochun and Jaejoong walked behind the stage ten minutes before 7:30 to prepare for the auction. Yoochun passed out the number tags and each volunteer lined up accordingly.
“Ready for this?” Jaejoong asked Yoochun, patting both of his shoulders.
The younger took a deep breath and nodded although he was still feeling pretty anxious. He was never a fan of being in the spot light.
The bar owner offered a few words of encouragement. “Don’t worry. Everything is going to be fine. Everyone will understand you’re doing this for charity.”
Yoochun nodded once more, taking in what his friend told him but that only did so little to ease his worries.
~:~:~
Mrs. Kim kept her speech short but lively, wishing everyone to enjoy the evening to their heart’s content and to bid till their wallets emptied. She didn't miss to give credit to the man behind the glamour of the night.
The bachelorettes went first. In the crowd, Junsu quietly observed the event on his own. Yunho was somewhere socializing with a few of the guests. His mother walked over to him after pardoning herself from the guests she was speaking with.
“Bored already?” Hee Jin asked with a kind smile upon seeing him checking his cell phone.
“You could say that,” he replied, putting his cell phone away. He just wanted the night to end so he could stop worrying about Yoochun and Jaejoong.
“Pay attention to the party, dear. You may enjoy it more that you think,” Hee Jin told him while grinning. That statement made Junsu wonder if his mother knew something that he didn’t. Before he could ask what she meant by that, they heard the auctioneer announced the next bachelor.
“Next to be auctioned is Choi Siwon.”
By now, the women were already auctioned off and they had moved on to the first few bachelors.
“What do you make of Yoochun’s new look?” he asked casually or at least he prayed he sounded so.
Hee Jin shrugged. “He said that he wanted to look more professional for this first official appearance.”
Junsu frowned. That was the first time he’s ever heard about this. He took a drink of his champagne just as Choi Siwon was “sold”.
“Next to be auctioned is Park Yoochun.”
He nearly spat out his drink hearing the name. That couldn’t be his brother-in-law, could it? He immediately faced the stage and there he was, standing in the center of the stage was his brother’s widower. Junsu blinked, too shocked to form coherent words.
“We’ll start the bid at $1,000. Do I hear $1,000?” and the bidding for Park Yoochun began. Junsu did not fail to see Yunho raising his hand to participate as well causing his already boiling blood to erupt.
The hotelier turned to his mother with a crazed look.
Did you know about this? his eyes desperately asked.
“I think it’d be better if you heard it from him, sweetie,” his mother coolly stated before averting her eyes towards her son-in-law again. The two of them needed to learn to communicate better. This was as much as she and Jaejoong can do. The rest is up to them.
Junsu wanted to smash his champagne glass and curse out loud. What did Yoochun think he was doing, putting himself out in the open like that? Any one of these guests or workers could be the perpetrator. If not that, then anyone in this room could win a date with his brother-in-law.
His grip on his champagne glass tightened. If the glass wasn’t of a refined quality, Hee Jin could have sworn her son would have broken it with his bare hand by now.
From his spot , Yoochun could tell Junsu was not very happy about his participation in the auction. Everybody may see it as charity but not Junsu. He’ll just have to explain later after the first dance and that caused the younger man more worries.
Everything is going to be all right, he told himself with calm breaths and refocused on the auction. Any one of these guests could win a date with him, but like Jaejoong had said, this is for charity.
Every other time the bid increased, Yunho countered with a larger amount. Junsu was getting irritated at how aggressive Yunho was. Either his friend was trying to protect Yoochun or he really wanted to win a date with Yoochun and neither pleased Junsu. Yoochun was Junho’s and nobody else can have him.
“Thirty thousand dollars from Jung Yunho-sshi. Does anybody wish to go higher?” the auctioneer asked.
If Yunho wins, it would be Yoochun’s first official date since Junho passed away. Could he really let that happen? Junsu gulped down the rest of his champagne before grabbing another glass from a waitress who came to replace his empty glass.
“Easy now, son. You wouldn’t want to end up drunk again, now would you?” Hee Jin warned him but he ignored her. He'll be damned if he lets Jung Yunho win his brother-in-law.
“Thirty thousand dollars going once, going twice…”
“Fifty thousand dollars!” Junsu shouted at the last second, causing a few astonished eyes to turn his way, especially his father’s.
“Fifty thousand dollars then,” said the auctioneer. “Fifty thousand dollars going once, going twice...sold! To Kim Junsu-sshi.”
“Yes!” Jaejoong celebrated quietly behind the curtains. He was worried for a moment that Yunho was going to win.
As Junsu made his way over to the stage, he could feel his father’s eyes on him. Junsu knew he has a lot of answering to do tonight. Stopping in front of his date, he offered his left arm and Yoochun looped his right arm through it. The two of them walked off the stage arm in arm, the guests softly applauding.
“You have a lot of explaining to do,” Junsu muttered between his teeth.
“I know,” he said softly as the two of them made their way to where the rest of the volunteers and their winning bidders were standing.
“Last to auction off is Kim Jaejoong.”
Junsu closed his eyes, feeling just as exasperated as before. Why were the two most important people in his life putting themselves in harm’s way tonight? The only thing he could do now was watch helplessly as the bids continue to rise.
To Jaejoong’s disappointment, Yunho wasn’t participating and that broke his heart, knowing that the young physician did not hesitate to bid on Yoochun. No matter what he does, Yunho will never notice him, he thought sadly. He never felt so defeated till now. He just wanted the damn auction to end already so he could return home and drown in his sorrows.
“$75,000!” he heard Yunho shout. He almost feared that it was a figment of his hopeful imagination. However, when he made eye contact with the young doctor, Jaejoong knew it was really happening. He was so delighted he thought his chest was going to burst.
Yunho couldn’t understand why he was feeling the way he was, why he suddenly felt jealous watching all of these men and women bidding on Jaejoong. Surely, Yoochun was the one he wanted to get to know better, but then how could he explain that he didn’t feel any jealousy when Junsu won Yoochun? How could he explain being jealous of the possibility of losing Jaejoong to someone else?
“Sold! To Jung Yunho-sshi,” the auctioneer interrupted his trail of thoughts.
Once he and Jaejoong were standing beside Junsu and Yoochun, Hee Jin walked up to the podium to thanked everyone for their generous contributions and continuing support.
The dance floor was then cleared for the pairs’ first dance. A screen scrolled down in front of the curtains on stage to present a slide show from a projector hooked onto the ceiling as the music began playing.
Junsu could see his father walking over to his mother. The old man did not look pleased. However, he’ll have to deal with his dad when the time comes. In fact, he'll have to deal with his own action as well, but now was time to get some of his questions answered.
Once on the dance floor, he held Yoochun’s right hand with his left and placed his right hand on the small of Yoochun’s back before pulling him towards his chest. Yoochun placed his other hand was on his shoulder and began gliding side to side in rhythm with the music.
“Start talking,” he whispered hotly against Yoochun’s ear.
It almost seemed like the drunk, scary Kim Junsu was speaking, and that made Yoochun shivered in fear. He never wants to see that side of Junsu again. The poor man didn’t know where to begin. It felt like their relationship had taken a couple of steps back.
“Why didn’t you tell me that you and Jaejoong were going to be in the auction?” He figured it was probably the only way to get Yoochun talking.
“Jaejoong and Omonim wanted it to be a secret that Jaejoong was in the auction. As for me, well, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be in it till today. See, one of the guys had to cancelled earlier this week. Omonim said that it was fine to have nine people instead of ten. However, that didn’t sit well with me. You have to understand that if this banquet didn’t go perfectly for my first time of planning it, then I would have let everyone down.”
“You’re being a little too hard on yourself. Nobody would think that,” Junsu interjected, his tone a bit softer than before.
“That’s what Omonim said, too,” Yoochun recalled. “I tried to find a replacement, but no one was available on such short notice or they were too shy to volunteer. I spoke with Omonim about joining the auction. She was fine with it but said that it was ultimately my decision to make. She didn’t want me to feel obligated.”
Junsu listened intently. “Was it necessary for you to return to your original surname Park?”
The man nodded, missing the impeded disappointment in Junsu's question. He explained that he couldn’t be an eligible bachelor if he was still using his late husband’s surname.
“Your logic is frustrating as ever,” Junsu stated with a sigh. Yoochun snorted.
“That’s not a compliment!” The young hotelier was nearly pouting.
“I know,” Yoochun grinned. Junsu seemed to be taking this better than he had anticipated. He supposed they had come a long way to get to where they are now.
“By the way, I’ve been meaning to tell you,” the hotelier began. “You did a great job putting all of this together.”
Yoochun met his eyes and smiled. “Thank you, hyungbu. That means a lot coming from you.”
The two of them continued to move to the music in silence. A few meters from them, Yoochun could see Jaejoong dancing with the man he loved. Yoochun was relieved when someone, even if it was Junsu, outbidded Yunho, giving Yunho the opportunity to bid on Jaejoong. He could only imagine how happy Jaejoong was at this moment.
Oh, to be in love, he sing-songed in his head. Then he remembered that he had wanted to ask Junsu something.
“Oh, and what happened to ‘I don’t want to bid on anyone, because I don’t want to cause a potential scandal,’ hmm?” he mocked. He was quite surprised, as was everyone else, when Junsu had shouted the winning bid.
Junsu locked eyes with him then and answered in serious tone of voice, “You’re the only exception.”
Yoochun’s playful smile faltered as he, too, gazed deeply into Junsu’s eyes. Somehow the atmosphere changed drastically with that one statement. His heart was doing flips, his breathing pattern changed suddenly, and he could swear that he felt his face turning pink, which probably did not go unnoticed by Junsu.
“Why?” Yoochun asked, barely a whisper, never looking away. He expected two possible answers yet deep down, he was hoping that Junsu didn’t respond with either of those answers.*
[A/N:
* The two possible answers Yoochun was expecting from Junsu:
1. that he’ll make Yoochun an exception b/c he’s family
2. that Yoochun was the only exception b/c he’s protecting Yoochun from the perpetrator and any of the guests or workers could be a suspect, using the auction to get closer to him.]
The music came to a stop and so did their movements, his question left unanswered. He’s not sure if he wants to know the answer now.
Someone cleared his throat nearby and the two of them finally let go of each other.
“May I cut in?” Yunho asked.
Neither of them knew how to answer for the other.
“Come on, Junsu! Dance with me next!” Jaejoong exclaimed, pulling Junsu away from Yoochun and his former dance partner, back to the spot where he and Yunho danced.
For the first time since he’s lost Junho, Yoochun felt that what remained of his broken heart was longing to beat again for someone else and the guilt overwhelmed him. It took all he had to not walk out of the ballroom and get some air. Yunho took his hand in his and the two of them began moving to the music, his eyes staring longingly in Junsu's direction.
~:~:~:~:~
Meanwhile, two men stood in the back, one holding a tray of champagne glasses dressed as one of the waiters, the other holding a glass of his own with a smug look on his face.
Everything was going according to Sungmin's plan. He had opt out of the auction earlier that week and he had made sure that Yoochun couldn't find a replacement so that he would have to take part in the auction himself. Sungmin had counted on Junsu winning. Little did Junsu know that winning Yoochun in the auction was only going to make his plan more believable.
“It won't be long now, Shindong-sshi,” he said to the waiter next to him.
“Finally,” the heavier of the two gnarled. He had waited patiently for a long time to see Kim Junsu finally get what he deserved for putting his older brother behind bars that night at Afterglow.
~:~:~:~:~
Chapter 15
A/N: Sorry for the late update. The first week of teaching summer school was just so hectic! I’ve never been so busy in one week. Well, I hope this was worth the wait.