No Show Fee: 04. Reinstated [JaeMin, JaeHae, YehHae; DBSK/SUJU]

Feb 13, 2008 22:08

title: No Show Fee : 04. Reinstated
author: yumeyana
fandom: dong bang shin ki / super junior
pairings: JaeJoong x ChangMin, JaeJoong x Donghae, Yehsung x Donghae (YooSu, KangTeuk, etc.)
rating/genre: PG-13/ drama, angst, humor, romance
summary: They say love waits. But the question always is, until when? JaeJoong adjusts to life with Yehsung, Donghae and Heechul quickly, fitting like a hand inside a glove. The members don't mention ChangMin in any way, not even when they meet up for a picnic (which the YooSu misses). And in the midst of it all, YunHo falls in love.

[crossposted at hug______, miracle______, _starcandy.]



Author’s Notes: This was the chapter I enjoyed writing, really. Maybe because the Dong Bang boys have already arrived and they’ll finally get a chance to shine. Hehe. That and one of my secret pairings makes an appearance. XD

Dedication: keight_michelle and aoireeza, this is for us. OTP forever, ne? XD!!

Disclaimers: None of the Dong Bang Shin Ki and Super Junior boys are mine, only the plot is.

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No Show Fee : Reinstated

They fit into each other’s lives quickly enough and soon JaeJoong has forgotten that there was even a time when they split into different groups and didn’t live together. It seemed like the old days and somehow, he was grateful for the familiarity it brought. It made him forget-even just a little-that he was the only one left in Dong Bang Shin Ki.

“That smells good,” came Yehsung’s voice from the living room.

JaeJoong smiled. He was thankful for these little praises about his cooking, how he maintained the house, how he took care of Donghae, of Yehsung, and of Heechul. They knew how much it meant to him that they appreciated these little domesticated thingamawhats he did for them. It kept him busy, kept him from thinking about the fact that it has been a month and still, there was no call from ChangMin.

“Want me to help?”
“It’d be better for all of us if you didn’t, hyung.”
“Ungrateful brat.”

Yehsung glanced at the younger one, watching him move about the kitchen (watching people move in the kitchen was becoming a habit, he observed). JaeJoong looked so at peace, so at home in that part of the house that it seemed like a sin to disturb him while he cooked or baked or did anything there. And it made him happy that there was still one thing that made the latter happy.

“Going out with them today?”

JaeJoong nodded, packing the last of the sandwiches. “Yeah. But JunSu said they might come a little late because of an interview or something. Knowing that job, they probably won’t make it.”

“So you’ll be stuck with YunHo?” Another nod. “Then why are you still packing so many sandwiches?”

“I might swing by the studio later. Donghae might forget to eat again.”

There was something Yehsung wanted to ask but he kept his mouth shut for the time being. This wasn’t the time to ask JaeJoong about this-thing with Donghae. He might just be reading between the lines way too much.

“Call me, then, so I can pick you up.” JaeJoong looked at him, an eyebrow raised in question. “What? My manager called and he wanted to discuss a new drama I could audition for.”

“A new drama?”

“Uh huh.”

“Hm. Then I should make more sandwiches.”

Yehsung smiled. “Yes, perhaps you should.”

*

“Hey.”

YunHo grinned, waving his hands in the air as he saw JaeJoong’s walk towards him. This was a secluded spot near the Han River-the place where, according to YooChun, they (the soul mates) had spent a lot of time contemplating about a lot random things (what, they would never reveal to anyone else)-and no one would even notice him looking like a ten-year-old.

JaeJoong plopped onto the spot beside him. “What’s up?”

“Nothing much,” YunHo said, reaching for the picnic basket. There were a lot of goodies, he noted, and his best friend might’ve outdone himself again. He wondered what the menu was today. “The kids are actually quite talented. They just need to shape up.”

“But you’re a tyrant when it comes to dancing, YunHo songsangnim.” YunHo punched him lightly and for a moment, there was a flash of memory in JaeJoong’s eyes but no one mentioned it. No one ever mentioned anything ChangMin-related to the latter.

“You know that’s not what I’m talking about, Yunja.”

JaeJoong raised an eyebrow when he caught a tinge of red on YunHo’s cheeks. It wasn’t an everyday affair that great-old-leader-sshi blushed over an (seemingly) innocent question. He waited for YunHo to gather his senses-he was fumbling with the sandwiches, taking so long to decide which he’d like to eat-and tried to contain the desire to send a message to YooChun.

“I’m… dating someone.”

“You’re dating someone.”

YunHo nodded, eyes on the food in front of him. He was nervous, JaeJoong could tell, nervous about his best friend’s reaction. YunHo should know better, he thought; his happiness was all that mattered. He was rambling and JaeJoong almost laughed; YunHo was acting like some teenager (girl) in-love. And-he tried to suppress his laughter still-because perhaps he really was. Whoever that person was, he (YunHo had mentioned that it was a ‘he’ as opposed to the ‘she’ he thought it could be) was one heck of a person. After all, YunHo was not the type of person who would gush about love.

That was more of-

“… I mean, I never knew that Hyukjae could be so sweet and caring and-”

Pause. Someone hit that rewind button for him. “Wait. You said ‘Hyukjae’?”

“Yeah.”

“As in Super Junior’s-” He didn’t mention former Super Junior member. “-Eunhyuk?”

“Yup.”

“JunSu’s Lee Hyukjae?”

YunHo raised an eyebrow.

*

「 WHAT?! 」

Heechul glanced sharply at the phone then at JaeJoong who was making dinner. Whoever said it was perfectly fine to put Kim JunSu on speaker phone was crazy. Especially if said caller was currently in frantic mode.

“Exactly what my mind screamed out, JunSu,” JaeJoong replied, head inside the refrigerator.

「 B-but WHY?! Why him of all people? 」

“Well, why not? They’ve known each other for as much as you’ve known YunHo. Plus, they’re apparently teaching a class together.” He grinned as he saw Donghae enter the kitchen.

「 But Hyukkie should’ve told me first! I didn’t even know he was-ARGH! I can’t even say it! 」

“What’s JunSu hyung talking about?” Donghae asked.

“Apparently, YunHo’s dating Hyukjae. And JunSu’s hyperventilating.” The grin on JaeJoong’s lips widened. He leaned towards the younger one and whispered, “He didn’t even see how YunHo reacted when I asked if he was pertaining to JunSu’s Lee Hyukjae.”

“Oh?” he whispered, curious. Then in a louder voice, “So Hyukkie finally confessed?”

「 CONFESSED? WHAT DO YOU MEAN ‘FINALLY CONFESSED’?!
Lee Donghae, explain yourself right this minute! 」

“You mean you didn’t know, JunSu hyung?” Donghae settled on the seat beside Yehsung, earning a small smile from the latter. “Hyukjae’s been trying to work up the courage to confess to YunHo hyung for months now.”

「 MONTHS?! 」

JaeJoong placed two chopping boards in front of Donghae and Yehsung, instructing them to help them chop the ingredients. The latter looked at him curiously but JaeJoong just smiled at him.

“So you’re practically saying that Hyukjae’s had this crush on YunHo for quite some time now?”

Donghae laughed. “I wouldn’t exactly phrase it as ‘quite some time’, Jae hyung, but well-”

「 NOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I CANNOT PERMIT THIS! THIS CANNOT HAPPEN! NOOOOOOOOOO!!! 」

“YooChun, what the hell are you doing there?” came Heechul’s irritated voice. “And why the hell are you laughing, you doofus? Do something to shut JunSu up!”

Yehsung grinned, totally amused at JunSu’s reaction towards this new turn of events. Exactly why he was all worked-up by something he couldn’t control, Yehsung would never understand but then again, this was Hyukjae and JunSu. There was a lot about them that he didn’t understand.

“Heechul hyung, strangling the phone is not the way to do it!”

He watched Donghae from the corner of his eyes, his laughter ringing clearly in his ears. Funny, he thought, how he could drown out Heechul’s infuriated tone, JunSu’s annoy(ing)ed cries, and JaeJoong’s amused giggles, and just concentrate on Donghae’s voice. It was as if there was no one there but him and Donghae.

Ah, Yehsung thought. Life couldn’t get any-

“Ack! Jae hyung, stop whispering in my ear! You’re tickling me!”

-worse.

*

From the corner of his eyes, YooChun watched JunSu pace around their apartment, lips moving miles per nanosecond. The latter was infuriated beyond compare and perhaps, he could understand why. There had never been any indication whatsoever that Hyukjae was even the slightest bit attracted to YunHo. And vice versa, of course.

“JunSu yah, why don’t you just call Hyukjae and get the story out of him?”

“I can’t,” he gritted through his teeth. “Hyukjae would laugh at me.”

“So? At least you’ll get an answer.” YooChun flipped the page of the magazine he wasn’t really reading.

“That’s not the point!”

He rolled his eyes. “And you actually have one?”

JunSu glared at his partner. YooChun was supposed to understand-he was supposed to be supportive of his frustration of not knowing what happened between his bestestbestfriend-in-the-whole-wide-world and his favorite hyung. He was supposed to hold his hand, plan the next move-how to make YunHo or Hyukjae or both confess to this absurdity-and help him put it into action.

“Which part of Hyukjae dating YunHo hyung don’t you understand, huh?”

YooChun closed his eyes, counting to ten, twenty, thirty-it wasn’t working, dammit. He put down the magazine, picking up his iPod and his mobile phone as he stood from his seat. He didn’t need to hear this, didn’t want to. He might say something stupid, something he could regret.

“Talk to me when you can explain to me whether I should be jealous of YunHo hyung or of Hyukjae.”

And with that, he left the apartment.

*

JaeJoong shook his head as he shut his cellphone close. The YooSu was having one of their little fights and YooChun had called to say he was probably going to drop by some time in the next few hours. He needed to finish a song that’s been bugging him and he needed equipments. He couldn’t very well go back to their apartment where he’d hear JunSu ranting about how unfair the world was and how some certain people have forgotten what being friends meant.

A part of him wants to rush out of the house and tell YooChun to meet him in their place but he knew the latter would need some time for himself. If YooChun needed his company, his help, he’d ask.

So unlike him.

He sighed, leaning on the railing of the veranda. The night wind was picking up and soon-soon, he knew-Yehsung would be rushing out with a jacket, ranting on about dongsaeng who never think about their own health. But this was-safe. Here he could think about him without minding all that fuss he usually went through when it was morning and the sun shone on everything, including his heart. Here he could wear it on his sleeve without the risk of anyone seeing how it much it ached.

“Hyung.”

He turned around, a little surprised that it was Donghae who went out, more so that there was not even a trace of a jacket or a blanket with him. Perhaps Yehsung was on the phone with-whoever it was he talked to most of the time.

“Trouble in paradise?”
“In YooSu paradise, you mean?”

They both laughed, the sound ringing through the dead of night. It slashed through his thoughts of Dong Bang Shin Ki, of him. Donghae, he thought, was like that. He was like someone’s flashlight-the big ones the police used in America-searching for anything (or anyone) that was lost in the dark.

Which he often was.

“You should get a new hobby, hyung.”

He turned his attention to his companion, blinking. “What do you mean?”

“You need something you can occupy yourself with. You’re stuck here all day.”

He chuckled. “I’m quite occupied with taking care of all three of you, thank you very much.”

“You know that’s not what I’m talking about, hyung.”

He turned his gaze back to the city lights and the buildings that were slowly growing dim with every office shutting down for the night. Donghae was right; he was wasting his talents away and he was still young. But he can’t find the will to sing again. Not without Dong Bang Shin Ki.

Not without him.

“Heechul hyung will be directing the new drama Jongwoon hyung and I auditioned for today.”
“Really?”
“Maybe you should try auditioning for a part in it, too.”
“Donghae, my acting is as good as Jongwoon hyung’s cooking is. Which is totally bland.”
“I can help you.”

And there was it again-help. How many times has he encountered that word ever since he left? Too many, he’d say. And he hated that fact that he couldn’t resist giving into people who reached out to hold his hand and guide him out of his place under the school desk. Especially when it was Donghae.

“Maybe.”

Donghae glanced at him, smile soft. His eyes danced with the night lights, he observed; slow, heart achingly slow. He moved closer and JaeJoong just stood there and watched him (his eyes, they kept him glued to the ground). His hand softly brushed the stray bangs in his eyes, fingers trailing down his cheek. Donghae was trembling-just a little, just slightly-as if he was afraid that JaeJoong would break (would vanish into thin air) if he held on too tight. (He won’t, probably would-will never tell anyone.)

JaeJoong leaned in.

Stop crying, hyung.

And it wasn’t until he said it, until Donghae’s lips softly captured his that he realized.

He closed his eyes.

tbc.

o3 | o5.a

Check-in. Check-out.
No Show Fee: o1 | o2 | o3

couple: jaejoong x changmin, #rps: tvxq, *series: no show fee, #rps: super junior, couple: yehsung x donghae, couple: jaejoong x donghae, %crossover

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