No Show Fee: 08.d. Itinerary Receipt [JaeMin, JaeHae, YehHae; DBSJ]
title: No Show Fee : 08.d. Itinerary Receipt
author: yumeyana
fandom: dong bang shin ki / super junior
pairs: JaeMin, JaeHae, YehHae (YooSu, KangTeuk, etc.)
rating/genre: PG-13 - NC-17 / drama, angst, humor, romance
summary: They say love waits. But the question always is, until when? JaeJoong, Donghae and Yehsung bag the main roles in Heechul's drama but getting the job is just the tip of the iceberg. They will have to deal with a workshop and getting comfortable with themselves and with their characters. JaeJoong, however, has more to think about. Like the missed call on JunSu's mobile phone.
[crossposted at hug______, miracle______, _starcandy.]
Author’s Notes: So Donghae and JaeJoong finally get together and we fast forward to three weeks after the three chapters dedicated to the day after the fateful night of their first kiss. This chapter will explain the drama they will be in; the drama will be essential to everything that will happen later on. Hopefully, this will be the second to the last part before we proceed to where we left off with ChangMin. Enjoy! :D
And, we are raising the story’s rating. (^^)v
Disclaimers: None of the Dong Bang Shin Ki and Super Junior boys are mine, only the plot is.
----------------------------------------------------
No Show Fee : Itinerary Receipt
Three weeks, Heechul counted, staring at the calendar in front of him. It had been three weeks since he talked to Leeteuk about that night that shook his household. From an outsider’s point of view, the change wasn’t really as drastic as he described: JaeJoong still slept in the same room with Heechul; Yehsung still maintained his status as Donghae’s roommate. JaeJoong still cooked meals for them; Yehsung was still banned from the kitchen unless invited.
But to the ones who knew them, there were changes.
Heechul sighed. He had to applaud Yehsung, he thought, for even trying not to mind being in the same room as Donghae and JaeJoong. It wasn’t as if the latter two were particularly blatant about their relationship but it didn’t take glasses to see how happy Donghae was just to be able to rest his head on JaeJoong’s lap while they ran through the script. Yehsung remained quiet about everything, only responding when Donghae glomped on him-something the latter made a point to do every single day. Perhaps, Heechul thought, it was Donghae’s way to make Yehsung realize that he had not forgotten his hyung. Yehsung welcomed these moments, even tried to prolong them as much as he could.
JaeJoong, on the other hand, played his own role in this little drama. He made it a point to cook something Yehsung liked, bring him coffee even if he didn’t ask for it. He invited Yehsung to watch DVDs of films they loved. Yehsung didn’t exactly shy away from these little favors; he even acted like it was perfectly normal for JaeJoong to be doing all these things.
At first, Heechul thought this was something odd; JaeJoong didn’t know anything about Yehsung’s feelings for Donghae, didn’t he? But then again, JaeJoong and Yehsung’s friendship was something odd in itself. Perhaps, in JaeJoong’s eyes, he was taking something precious from Yehsung and he wanted to make up for it.
“Director?” his secretary called from the door; he had forgotten to close it again, he thought. Heechul turned to her, schooling his features to a professional one. “I knocked,” she said, sensing the tension. He nodded once as if he heard her, telling her to continue. “The casting director has made her choice. She said she e-mailed the final list to you.”
He almost sighed again-wrinkles, Heechul, he reminded himself. “Thank you, Jiyun. I’ll look it over.”
She smiled, bowed and was gone as fast as she had arrived (she even closed the door, thank heavens). He tore his gaze from the calendar and opened his laptop. JaeJoong had auditioned for the drama he was directing, just like Donghae had wanted (Yehsung had snorted, on the brink of laughing; JaeJoong threw a pillow at him and former fought back. Heechul was almost sure things hadn’t changed a bit.). He wasn’t there for the audition, preferring not to have anything to do with the casting especially since three of his closest friends were there.
He scanned his e-mail, trashing the spam mails before clicking the one his casting director sent. He knew that casting was harder this time around; this was the first time he was going to do something of this kind. Plus, they were also going to film parts of this one overseas. He scanned its contents, eyes widening when he read the names in the lead roles.
Maybe he should’ve been there for the casting after all.
*
“I-you-I mean, me?”
“Yes, you. And Jongwoon and Donghae.”
JaeJoong could not believe his ears. He-the Dong Bang Shin Ki member who was famous for his NGs-was getting one of the lead roles in drama Heechul was going to direct. Ok, so YunHo’s acting was worse than his, but still-it wasn’t as if he was fully trained in acting. This was an achievement of a lifetime.
“You should know by now that the drama involves some explicit scenes to be taken,” Heechul said, his serious tone cutting through the excitement in the room. Donghae’s smile disappeared, nodding like the professional actor he was now known as. Yehsung had to elbow JaeJoong to wake him up from his daze; the younger man was still awed by the fact that he was chosen among the professionals that auditioned.
Donghae raised a hand. “Hyung, by explicit scenes, you mean we really have to do the scenes?”
“No, of course not.” Heechul tried not to laugh at how Yehsung suddenly blushed. He briefly wondered which part of the script the younger man remembered. “You would act as if you were really doing it, not do it on set. Anyway, that said, the cast will meet on Thursday. Free your schedules and practice your parts before that day, hm?”
“Hyung,” Yehsung raised a hand and Heechul fought the urge to roll his eyes. He was a director, not a teacher, dammit. He nodded once, telling him to proceed. “You didn’t tell us who got which role.”
“Ah, yes.” He tried to sound as if this wasn’t going to be a big deal-which it was. He schooled his features into something more professional and readied himself for the reaction that would follow. Jungsu, he thought; help.
“C’mon, hyung,” came Donghae’s excited voice. “I’m dying to know which part I’ll be playing.”
Oh, someone will be dying alright.
*
The drama Heechul was directing was about three men who will meet and fall in love under unusual circumstances. Two of the main characters were brothers, Son Junyoung and Son Junhae, who were orphaned early on and left to fend for themselves. Junyoung, the older of the two, had tried balancing his studies and working for the both of them but it wasn’t enough. Junhae, realizing their situation, secretly tried to help. Desperate and near the brink of eating only once a day, the brothers-unbeknownst to each other-swallowed their pride and decided to try acting in a studio which was famous for making Adult Videos (AV). The pay was good, better than they expected; they only had to deal with the boys love part of it.
Enter Kim Jinhyun, a magazine writer, who, in more ways than one, was in the same situation as the Son brothers. He had debts to pay and the collectors were already demanding-violently, he might add-that he pay them, else they hurt his family. Realizing he had no other choice, he entered the world of AV acting, where he would meet both Junyoung and Junhae.
Yehsung was Son Junyoung.
JaeJoong was Son Junhae.
And Donghae was Kim Jinhyun.
*
Yehsung buried his face in his pillow, trying his best not to shout or anything. When Heechul told them their roles, he didn’t know whether he should be happy or he should just forget he ever agreed to audition for the drama (curse his blasted manager for ever being so convincing). He was in the middle, his feelings all muddled up. As if he needed more of this.
He sighed, turning around to stare at the ceiling. Perhaps he should just be happy; after all, how many people were given a chance of kissing and-he blushed-making love, if only pretending to do so, with his unrequited love? No, he thought; not many people were this lucky.
Yes. He was lucky indeed.
*
Wow. Donghae rolled his eyes, placing the phone in between his ear and shoulder. “That’s the eighth time you’ve said that, Hyukkie. Can’t you get over it?” He shouldn’t have called Hyukjae, he thought as he grabbed remote and changed the channel. Who was watching Animal Planet, anyway?
Donghae, you’re going to have sex with Jongwoon hyung and JaeJoong hyung!
“I am not having real sex with them, you idiot,” he said, settling on HBO. They were showing Alexander again but it wasn’t as if he’d ever get tired of watching it. “It’s just pretend. We’re going to act as if we’re doing it. Really, Hyukjae.” Although doing it with JaeJoong did make him way too excited for his own sanity, he was a professional. This was just acting.
But… won’t that be awkward? I mean, c’mon, Donghae. It’s not as if you’ve done dramas like this before. Hyukjae was right, Donghae thought; it will be awkward for all three of them and of the handful of dramas he has done in the past, none of them involved explicit scenes. But they were all friends-him, Yehsung and JaeJoong-and professionals. They knew when to draw the line between acting and making it real.
“Of course, it will be. What are you suggesting we do-practice beforehand?” Donghae almost choked on his own words. Where the hell did that come from, anyway?
Hyukjae laughed. Hey, you said that; not me.
“You want details?”
Hell, no. I have my own love life, thank you very much.
Donghae raised an eyebrow. “You mean, you and YunHo hyung have-”
Something fell on Hyukjae’s end of the line and Donghae was willing to bet it was the dancer himself. He grinned; sometimes, it was just too easy to make his best friend uncomfortable. Hadn’t he learned by now that he was only teasing? But of course, if there was some truth in the matter then he would most gladly love to have the details.
I-I said nothing to implicate that Yunja and I are at that stage!
“But you’re the one who brought it up, Hyukkie.”
I certainly did not!
He laughed. He should refute his statement earlier. It was a good thing he called Hyukjae; this call could very well take his mind off things he shouldn’t be thinking about.
Like how nervous he really was.
*
Thursday had come way too quickly in JaeJoong’s opinion. He was not ready; he barely memorized his lines. Practicing with Donghae and Yehsung was a big no-no, especially since he was still trying to swallow everything that he was supposed to do. Why, he thought, did he agree to audition, anyway? He was happy the way he was-jobless. At least all he worried about then was what to cook next. He didn’t have to think about how to execute explicit scenes in front of everybody.
No, he didn’t even have to think of how to do that with Donghae.
He sat beside said dongsaeng, trying his best to remain calm and collected. Yehsung, if he was ever nervous about the whole project, was doing a good job at hiding it. So was Donghae, he thought; his dongsaeng was just smiling as if the world was perfectly normal.
“Most of the scenes,” Heechul’s authoritative voice cut through his thoughts. “Will be filmed in Japan. We will be working with Japanese actors also. I expect that those of you who are unfamiliar with the language, has spent the last few weeks learning it.”
Everyone nodded. It was no problem for the four of them, JaeJoong thought; they have been in Japan for half of their singing career and Japanese was already part of his vocabulary. A smile crept up his face, remembering how he struggled to get used to that language; they had spent months learning it, years using it, and yet there were times where he would stumble on his words, verbs all over the place. YunHo would just smile and shake his head; it was ChangMin who-
Stop. Stop thinking about him.
Donghae glanced at him as if sensing that there was something wrong. He gave him an easy smile, squeezing the hand that had been intertwined with his ever since the meeting started. He was with Donghae, he told himself; there was no use thinking about a person who didn’t even take time to fulfill a promise.
“Our costume designer will be taking your measurements in a few minutes; final fitting of the costumes will be next week at the same time. Photos for press release will be taken next week as well after the costumes are finished. In the mean time, Kim Jongwoon-sshi, Lee Donghae-sshi and Kim JaeJoong-sshi will undergo an acting workshop, which will start tomorrow. By Sunday next week, we will be flying to Japan to start filming the drama. Any questions?”
The actors all shook their heads; Heechul nodded. “Then, it is time to work.”
*
Lucky wasn’t exactly how Yehsung felt at the moment. Their workshop instructor was asking them to demonstrate the explicit scenes if front of all of them. All of them included the instructor, the lighting director, the assistant director, the producer, the (stupid, damned) script writer, and Heechul. He could feel his cheeks heating up and he knew that his co-actors were not feeling any different. It was the first day of the workshop and this was the first task? Where the hell did Heechul get this woman, anyway?
Donghae glanced at his hyung-deul, sensing all the tension. JaeJoong, of all of them, was the most nervous and that was understandable. It was first time-hell, what was he talking about; they were all on the same ground here. Not one of them was a professional in this part of the acting business.
“I suggest we start now,” their instructor’s voice cut through the tension in the room. “We still have lots to cover, you know.”
Yehsung was muttering something about killing the instructor, his manager and Heechul, and for the first time since this whole workshop started, JaeJoong felt at ease-a little. It was good to know that he wasn’t alone in being nervous and in plotting this whole revenge after all everything had come to an end. He let Donghae go for a while, telling him that he’ll be with him in a moment. He approached Yehsung, putting an arm around his shoulders; the latter turned to him sharply. He smiled. “Hyung, what do you say we plot this together?”
“Plot what?”
“Killing the people who ever thought of putting us through this.”
The older of the two grinned. He was suddenly reminded why he was closest to JaeJoong before they debuted. The latter knew what he was thinking before he even said it; their minds worked almost in the same wave length. “I say we do it slowly.”
“To that I agree a hundred percent.”
*
Heechul watched as his friends-actors, he reminded himself-undressed and took their positions. Yehsung and Donghae were up first (no pun intended, he wanted it to be noted) and he knew it took a lot of self control from the former not to blush from head to foot. After all, no sane person would be taking all their clothes off in front of people he didn’t exactly know and then have sex in front of them. Pretend, he reiterated; they would pretend to have sex.
“You have to be comfortable with yourself and with your partners. We can’t have you getting embarrassed in front of the camera, can we?” Heechul raised an eyebrow; clearly, this woman knew her stuff. “Let go of your inhibitions.”
Somehow, Heechul thought, this reminded him of a manga he once read before.
*
“Remind me again why I even agreed to do this?”
Because your evil manager hypnotized you. He is a manipulative man.
Yehsung glanced at the speakerphone. “You don’t agree with me, do you?” He walked to his closet, browsing through his outfits. He needed something easy to wear, something he won’t spend too much time thinking if it was the appropriate outfit for whatever may come their way. Plus, it was getting colder. He definitely remembered how cold Japan could be.
Of course, I do. You have a manipulative manager. You were a victim of his evil plans to conquer the world. He glared at the speakerphone, wanting his glare to reach the other line. “I hate you, Jungsu hyung.”
You love me, Jongwoon. Yehsung rolled his eyes. “Oh, just stop laughing, will you?” There was more laughter at the other end of the line. He briefly wondered why he thought of calling Leeteuk in the first place. He wanted some sanity, something he certainly lost last week. He sighed; last week was crazy, to say the least. He didn’t know if he could do that again.
Jongwoon? You still there?
“Yes, hyung. Why?”
You didn’t finish telling me about the training.
“Workshop,” Yehsung corrected, the very thought of it, sending chills down his spine. “I told you, hyung; that lady Heechul hyung hired to train us was either crazy or too much of a fangirl. I don’t know which of the two was worse, actually.”
She was probably both.
“If she was, Heechul hyung hired the devil.”
*
JaeJoong threw a pillow at YooChun, making sure it would hit his face. Dead center, he thought triumphantly as the latter’s laughter suddenly ceased. JunSu immediately crossed the living room to help YooChun up, lightly scolding the other.
“It’s not funny, Chun,” JaeJoong said, grabbing the bag of chips from YunHo. “I had to do it in front of so many people! I even had to kiss Jongwoon hyung and I don’t even know why. It wasn’t even in the script!”
“You said she wanted you to get comfortable, hyung,” Hyukjae said. He handed JaeJoong a glass of juice before settling down beside YunHo. JunSu rolled his eyes at how YunHo immediately put his head on his best friend’s shoulder. “Maybe that’s why she did it.”
“But it wasn’t even in the script, Hyukjae. Why do it?”
“Maybe she’s a fangirl, hyung,” came YooChun’s voice. He was still grinning widely, trying his best not to laugh. It wasn’t exactly fun to get smacked by a pillow; JaeJoong could still hit like he was twenty. “But that’s not what we were talking about, weren’t we?”
This time, it was YunHo who threw a pillow at YooChun. Unfortunately, though, he hit JunSu instead. After a quick apology to the latter, he turned his attention back to YooChun. “I prefer not to have details. Donghae is still my dongsaeng, one who practically grew up with me.”
“But we’ll all watch the drama, anyway,” YooChun reasoned out, earning a glare from YunHo. He turned to JaeJoong. “C’mon, hyung. You don’t need to give us specifics-although that would be better-”
“PARK YOOCHUN-”
“-just tell us the small stories. Like,” he put his finger on his lips as if this was some hard math problem he had to solve. “Is Jongwoon hyung a good kisser?”
JaeJoong rolled his eyes. “I don’t even want to think about that.”
“But you’re blushing, hyung.”
“It’s the light bouncing off, asshole.”
*
Why does it sound like a war is going on there?
Yehsung shrugged. “YooChun, JunSu, YunHo and Hyukjae are here.”
Ooh! The YooSu and the YunJae! The younger one rolled his eyes. Trust Leeteuk to think about pairings even at that age. Sometimes, he thought, it was Leeteuk who fed the fans bits of information that made the pairings more believable. But anyway, back to our topic. You kissed Donghae, right?
And pretended to have sex with him, yes-Yehsung wanted to add but just gave Leeteuk some vague grunt. How was it? Like a fairytale, he wanted to answer and it almost slipped from his tongue had he not bit it in time. “We were acting, hyung. Whatever it felt like doesn’t really matter.”
Of course, it does, idiot. You’ve been in-love with him since day one and you finally got to kiss him. It would matter to anybody even if they were only acting.
Yehsung closed his suitcase. Of course it mattered. He wasn’t an idiot. Kissing Donghae was the only thing he looked forward to every time they attended the workshop. No matter how much he tried separating himself from his character, there were times where he slipped, when he kissed too passionately, held on a second too long. Donghae never asked, though, and Yehsung never dared to broach the subject.
“You’ve been watching Haru wo Daiteita again, haven’t you?”
You’re evading the question, Jongwoon.
He sighed, plopping on his bed, eyes resting on Donghae’s side of the room. The latter was out buying food for all of them. Pizza, he said and JunSu offered their shop; Junho would gladly deliver it. But Donghae insisted that he would just pick it up; there was something he needed to buy anyway and it was on the way.
“It was like a dream come true, hyung.”
*
“That must be the pizza,” JaeJoong said, almost running away from the sniggering YooChun. He had given in, telling them about the workshop. He didn’t include everything, of course; just enough to satisfy his soul mate’s curiosity for the time being. He opened the door to a grinning Donghae. “Hey,” he greeted. “We’ve been waiting for that.”
Donghae moved closer, lips hovering near his. “Only the pizza, hyung?”
He could answer in a lot of different ways, JaeJoong thought, but they were hungry and the pizza was waiting. Well, that and Donghae’s lips were a little too inviting for comfort. They’ve been dancing like this since last week but they’ve limited it to snuggling and cuddling; kissing, well, when they were the only ones in the room-which, of course, wasn’t the situation now.
But perhaps, he’ll indulge this one time.
He let their lips touch, but just touch, before answering. “You don’t say they’ve be waiting for this, too. I’m not the sharing type, Donghae.”
The younger one nipped at his lower lip, slowly making his through the kiss. “Glad to know that,” he said before releasing JaeJoong. He turned to the people in the living room. “Pizza for everyone!”
By the time they reached the living room, even Hyukjae was cheering and JaeJoong had a very good inkling that it had nothing to do with the pizza finally arriving. YunHo, however, was looking at Donghae in a very protective-father-sort-of-way. But the younger one smiled at him and shrugged; it was like saying that he can take care of himself now.
“Ah, someone should call Jongwoon hyung,” JaeJoong said, clearing the dining table so that Donghae could put the pizza down. “Could you knock on his door, JunSu? I promised we’d inform him when the pizza’s arrived.”
“Sure, hyung.”
*
A dream come true-that was the way he had phrased it. Leeteuk had warned him, reminded him to keep his feet on the ground, and he promised he would. It would be hard work, but he would try his very best. He turned to his side, hugging the bolster Donghae got him for Christmas last year. He would try.
There was a knock on his door. “Hyung?”
JunSu, he thought as he released his hold on the bolster. He got up and opened the door. There was something in his eyes, something he knew he was better off not knowing. JunSu, he noted, should remember that his eyes betrayed his emotions. “Yeah?”
“Pizza’s already here.”
*
While YunHo fussed over Donghae (Hyukjae fussed about YunHo fussing over Donghae and YooChun fussed over the pizza and whatever the dongsaeng bought home), JaeJoong fixed the mess they made in the living room. He should remember never to have pillow fights in the living room; pillow fights should be done in the comforts for one’s room.
He picked up the pillows they threw, making sure not one was left on the floor. He puffed them, putting them back; he’d hate to see Heechul come home and see the mess they-he stopped. Something in between the cushions was vibrating. He put the pillows on one side of the couch and looked for the vibrating thing. He was sure it wasn’t a vibrator; well, at least he’d like to believe it wasn’t.
Aha, he thought when he finally located it. He reached for it, wondering how it got there in the first place. He was sure they weren’t that rowdy. He pulled it up-JunSu’s mobile phone. He was about to call YooChun and tell him when he saw that the mobile phone had an open message.
Missed Call:
ChangMin (home)
tbc.
o8.c | o8.e
Check-in. Check-out.
No Show Fee: o1 | o2 | o3 | o4 | o5.a | o5.b | o6 | st, boarding pass | o7.a | o7.b. | o7.c | o7.d | o8.a | o8.b | o8.c |
author: yumeyana
fandom: dong bang shin ki / super junior
pairs: JaeMin, JaeHae, YehHae (YooSu, KangTeuk, etc.)
rating/genre: PG-13 - NC-17 / drama, angst, humor, romance
summary: They say love waits. But the question always is, until when? JaeJoong, Donghae and Yehsung bag the main roles in Heechul's drama but getting the job is just the tip of the iceberg. They will have to deal with a workshop and getting comfortable with themselves and with their characters. JaeJoong, however, has more to think about. Like the missed call on JunSu's mobile phone.
[crossposted at hug______, miracle______, _starcandy.]
Author’s Notes: So Donghae and JaeJoong finally get together and we fast forward to three weeks after the three chapters dedicated to the day after the fateful night of their first kiss. This chapter will explain the drama they will be in; the drama will be essential to everything that will happen later on. Hopefully, this will be the second to the last part before we proceed to where we left off with ChangMin. Enjoy! :D
And, we are raising the story’s rating. (^^)v
Disclaimers: None of the Dong Bang Shin Ki and Super Junior boys are mine, only the plot is.
----------------------------------------------------
No Show Fee : Itinerary Receipt
Three weeks, Heechul counted, staring at the calendar in front of him. It had been three weeks since he talked to Leeteuk about that night that shook his household. From an outsider’s point of view, the change wasn’t really as drastic as he described: JaeJoong still slept in the same room with Heechul; Yehsung still maintained his status as Donghae’s roommate. JaeJoong still cooked meals for them; Yehsung was still banned from the kitchen unless invited.
But to the ones who knew them, there were changes.
Heechul sighed. He had to applaud Yehsung, he thought, for even trying not to mind being in the same room as Donghae and JaeJoong. It wasn’t as if the latter two were particularly blatant about their relationship but it didn’t take glasses to see how happy Donghae was just to be able to rest his head on JaeJoong’s lap while they ran through the script. Yehsung remained quiet about everything, only responding when Donghae glomped on him-something the latter made a point to do every single day. Perhaps, Heechul thought, it was Donghae’s way to make Yehsung realize that he had not forgotten his hyung. Yehsung welcomed these moments, even tried to prolong them as much as he could.
JaeJoong, on the other hand, played his own role in this little drama. He made it a point to cook something Yehsung liked, bring him coffee even if he didn’t ask for it. He invited Yehsung to watch DVDs of films they loved. Yehsung didn’t exactly shy away from these little favors; he even acted like it was perfectly normal for JaeJoong to be doing all these things.
At first, Heechul thought this was something odd; JaeJoong didn’t know anything about Yehsung’s feelings for Donghae, didn’t he? But then again, JaeJoong and Yehsung’s friendship was something odd in itself. Perhaps, in JaeJoong’s eyes, he was taking something precious from Yehsung and he wanted to make up for it.
“Director?” his secretary called from the door; he had forgotten to close it again, he thought. Heechul turned to her, schooling his features to a professional one. “I knocked,” she said, sensing the tension. He nodded once as if he heard her, telling her to continue. “The casting director has made her choice. She said she e-mailed the final list to you.”
He almost sighed again-wrinkles, Heechul, he reminded himself. “Thank you, Jiyun. I’ll look it over.”
She smiled, bowed and was gone as fast as she had arrived (she even closed the door, thank heavens). He tore his gaze from the calendar and opened his laptop. JaeJoong had auditioned for the drama he was directing, just like Donghae had wanted (Yehsung had snorted, on the brink of laughing; JaeJoong threw a pillow at him and former fought back. Heechul was almost sure things hadn’t changed a bit.). He wasn’t there for the audition, preferring not to have anything to do with the casting especially since three of his closest friends were there.
He scanned his e-mail, trashing the spam mails before clicking the one his casting director sent. He knew that casting was harder this time around; this was the first time he was going to do something of this kind. Plus, they were also going to film parts of this one overseas. He scanned its contents, eyes widening when he read the names in the lead roles.
Maybe he should’ve been there for the casting after all.
*
“I-you-I mean, me?”
“Yes, you. And Jongwoon and Donghae.”
JaeJoong could not believe his ears. He-the Dong Bang Shin Ki member who was famous for his NGs-was getting one of the lead roles in drama Heechul was going to direct. Ok, so YunHo’s acting was worse than his, but still-it wasn’t as if he was fully trained in acting. This was an achievement of a lifetime.
“You should know by now that the drama involves some explicit scenes to be taken,” Heechul said, his serious tone cutting through the excitement in the room. Donghae’s smile disappeared, nodding like the professional actor he was now known as. Yehsung had to elbow JaeJoong to wake him up from his daze; the younger man was still awed by the fact that he was chosen among the professionals that auditioned.
Donghae raised a hand. “Hyung, by explicit scenes, you mean we really have to do the scenes?”
“No, of course not.” Heechul tried not to laugh at how Yehsung suddenly blushed. He briefly wondered which part of the script the younger man remembered. “You would act as if you were really doing it, not do it on set. Anyway, that said, the cast will meet on Thursday. Free your schedules and practice your parts before that day, hm?”
“Hyung,” Yehsung raised a hand and Heechul fought the urge to roll his eyes. He was a director, not a teacher, dammit. He nodded once, telling him to proceed. “You didn’t tell us who got which role.”
“Ah, yes.” He tried to sound as if this wasn’t going to be a big deal-which it was. He schooled his features into something more professional and readied himself for the reaction that would follow. Jungsu, he thought; help.
“C’mon, hyung,” came Donghae’s excited voice. “I’m dying to know which part I’ll be playing.”
Oh, someone will be dying alright.
*
The drama Heechul was directing was about three men who will meet and fall in love under unusual circumstances. Two of the main characters were brothers, Son Junyoung and Son Junhae, who were orphaned early on and left to fend for themselves. Junyoung, the older of the two, had tried balancing his studies and working for the both of them but it wasn’t enough. Junhae, realizing their situation, secretly tried to help. Desperate and near the brink of eating only once a day, the brothers-unbeknownst to each other-swallowed their pride and decided to try acting in a studio which was famous for making Adult Videos (AV). The pay was good, better than they expected; they only had to deal with the boys love part of it.
Enter Kim Jinhyun, a magazine writer, who, in more ways than one, was in the same situation as the Son brothers. He had debts to pay and the collectors were already demanding-violently, he might add-that he pay them, else they hurt his family. Realizing he had no other choice, he entered the world of AV acting, where he would meet both Junyoung and Junhae.
Yehsung was Son Junyoung.
JaeJoong was Son Junhae.
And Donghae was Kim Jinhyun.
*
Yehsung buried his face in his pillow, trying his best not to shout or anything. When Heechul told them their roles, he didn’t know whether he should be happy or he should just forget he ever agreed to audition for the drama (curse his blasted manager for ever being so convincing). He was in the middle, his feelings all muddled up. As if he needed more of this.
He sighed, turning around to stare at the ceiling. Perhaps he should just be happy; after all, how many people were given a chance of kissing and-he blushed-making love, if only pretending to do so, with his unrequited love? No, he thought; not many people were this lucky.
Yes. He was lucky indeed.
*
Wow. Donghae rolled his eyes, placing the phone in between his ear and shoulder. “That’s the eighth time you’ve said that, Hyukkie. Can’t you get over it?” He shouldn’t have called Hyukjae, he thought as he grabbed remote and changed the channel. Who was watching Animal Planet, anyway?
Donghae, you’re going to have sex with Jongwoon hyung and JaeJoong hyung!
“I am not having real sex with them, you idiot,” he said, settling on HBO. They were showing Alexander again but it wasn’t as if he’d ever get tired of watching it. “It’s just pretend. We’re going to act as if we’re doing it. Really, Hyukjae.” Although doing it with JaeJoong did make him way too excited for his own sanity, he was a professional. This was just acting.
But… won’t that be awkward? I mean, c’mon, Donghae. It’s not as if you’ve done dramas like this before. Hyukjae was right, Donghae thought; it will be awkward for all three of them and of the handful of dramas he has done in the past, none of them involved explicit scenes. But they were all friends-him, Yehsung and JaeJoong-and professionals. They knew when to draw the line between acting and making it real.
“Of course, it will be. What are you suggesting we do-practice beforehand?” Donghae almost choked on his own words. Where the hell did that come from, anyway?
Hyukjae laughed. Hey, you said that; not me.
“You want details?”
Hell, no. I have my own love life, thank you very much.
Donghae raised an eyebrow. “You mean, you and YunHo hyung have-”
Something fell on Hyukjae’s end of the line and Donghae was willing to bet it was the dancer himself. He grinned; sometimes, it was just too easy to make his best friend uncomfortable. Hadn’t he learned by now that he was only teasing? But of course, if there was some truth in the matter then he would most gladly love to have the details.
I-I said nothing to implicate that Yunja and I are at that stage!
“But you’re the one who brought it up, Hyukkie.”
I certainly did not!
He laughed. He should refute his statement earlier. It was a good thing he called Hyukjae; this call could very well take his mind off things he shouldn’t be thinking about.
Like how nervous he really was.
*
Thursday had come way too quickly in JaeJoong’s opinion. He was not ready; he barely memorized his lines. Practicing with Donghae and Yehsung was a big no-no, especially since he was still trying to swallow everything that he was supposed to do. Why, he thought, did he agree to audition, anyway? He was happy the way he was-jobless. At least all he worried about then was what to cook next. He didn’t have to think about how to execute explicit scenes in front of everybody.
No, he didn’t even have to think of how to do that with Donghae.
He sat beside said dongsaeng, trying his best to remain calm and collected. Yehsung, if he was ever nervous about the whole project, was doing a good job at hiding it. So was Donghae, he thought; his dongsaeng was just smiling as if the world was perfectly normal.
“Most of the scenes,” Heechul’s authoritative voice cut through his thoughts. “Will be filmed in Japan. We will be working with Japanese actors also. I expect that those of you who are unfamiliar with the language, has spent the last few weeks learning it.”
Everyone nodded. It was no problem for the four of them, JaeJoong thought; they have been in Japan for half of their singing career and Japanese was already part of his vocabulary. A smile crept up his face, remembering how he struggled to get used to that language; they had spent months learning it, years using it, and yet there were times where he would stumble on his words, verbs all over the place. YunHo would just smile and shake his head; it was ChangMin who-
Stop. Stop thinking about him.
Donghae glanced at him as if sensing that there was something wrong. He gave him an easy smile, squeezing the hand that had been intertwined with his ever since the meeting started. He was with Donghae, he told himself; there was no use thinking about a person who didn’t even take time to fulfill a promise.
“Our costume designer will be taking your measurements in a few minutes; final fitting of the costumes will be next week at the same time. Photos for press release will be taken next week as well after the costumes are finished. In the mean time, Kim Jongwoon-sshi, Lee Donghae-sshi and Kim JaeJoong-sshi will undergo an acting workshop, which will start tomorrow. By Sunday next week, we will be flying to Japan to start filming the drama. Any questions?”
The actors all shook their heads; Heechul nodded. “Then, it is time to work.”
*
Lucky wasn’t exactly how Yehsung felt at the moment. Their workshop instructor was asking them to demonstrate the explicit scenes if front of all of them. All of them included the instructor, the lighting director, the assistant director, the producer, the (stupid, damned) script writer, and Heechul. He could feel his cheeks heating up and he knew that his co-actors were not feeling any different. It was the first day of the workshop and this was the first task? Where the hell did Heechul get this woman, anyway?
Donghae glanced at his hyung-deul, sensing all the tension. JaeJoong, of all of them, was the most nervous and that was understandable. It was first time-hell, what was he talking about; they were all on the same ground here. Not one of them was a professional in this part of the acting business.
“I suggest we start now,” their instructor’s voice cut through the tension in the room. “We still have lots to cover, you know.”
Yehsung was muttering something about killing the instructor, his manager and Heechul, and for the first time since this whole workshop started, JaeJoong felt at ease-a little. It was good to know that he wasn’t alone in being nervous and in plotting this whole revenge after all everything had come to an end. He let Donghae go for a while, telling him that he’ll be with him in a moment. He approached Yehsung, putting an arm around his shoulders; the latter turned to him sharply. He smiled. “Hyung, what do you say we plot this together?”
“Plot what?”
“Killing the people who ever thought of putting us through this.”
The older of the two grinned. He was suddenly reminded why he was closest to JaeJoong before they debuted. The latter knew what he was thinking before he even said it; their minds worked almost in the same wave length. “I say we do it slowly.”
“To that I agree a hundred percent.”
*
Heechul watched as his friends-actors, he reminded himself-undressed and took their positions. Yehsung and Donghae were up first (no pun intended, he wanted it to be noted) and he knew it took a lot of self control from the former not to blush from head to foot. After all, no sane person would be taking all their clothes off in front of people he didn’t exactly know and then have sex in front of them. Pretend, he reiterated; they would pretend to have sex.
“You have to be comfortable with yourself and with your partners. We can’t have you getting embarrassed in front of the camera, can we?” Heechul raised an eyebrow; clearly, this woman knew her stuff. “Let go of your inhibitions.”
Somehow, Heechul thought, this reminded him of a manga he once read before.
*
“Remind me again why I even agreed to do this?”
Because your evil manager hypnotized you. He is a manipulative man.
Yehsung glanced at the speakerphone. “You don’t agree with me, do you?” He walked to his closet, browsing through his outfits. He needed something easy to wear, something he won’t spend too much time thinking if it was the appropriate outfit for whatever may come their way. Plus, it was getting colder. He definitely remembered how cold Japan could be.
Of course, I do. You have a manipulative manager. You were a victim of his evil plans to conquer the world. He glared at the speakerphone, wanting his glare to reach the other line. “I hate you, Jungsu hyung.”
You love me, Jongwoon. Yehsung rolled his eyes. “Oh, just stop laughing, will you?” There was more laughter at the other end of the line. He briefly wondered why he thought of calling Leeteuk in the first place. He wanted some sanity, something he certainly lost last week. He sighed; last week was crazy, to say the least. He didn’t know if he could do that again.
Jongwoon? You still there?
“Yes, hyung. Why?”
You didn’t finish telling me about the training.
“Workshop,” Yehsung corrected, the very thought of it, sending chills down his spine. “I told you, hyung; that lady Heechul hyung hired to train us was either crazy or too much of a fangirl. I don’t know which of the two was worse, actually.”
She was probably both.
“If she was, Heechul hyung hired the devil.”
*
JaeJoong threw a pillow at YooChun, making sure it would hit his face. Dead center, he thought triumphantly as the latter’s laughter suddenly ceased. JunSu immediately crossed the living room to help YooChun up, lightly scolding the other.
“It’s not funny, Chun,” JaeJoong said, grabbing the bag of chips from YunHo. “I had to do it in front of so many people! I even had to kiss Jongwoon hyung and I don’t even know why. It wasn’t even in the script!”
“You said she wanted you to get comfortable, hyung,” Hyukjae said. He handed JaeJoong a glass of juice before settling down beside YunHo. JunSu rolled his eyes at how YunHo immediately put his head on his best friend’s shoulder. “Maybe that’s why she did it.”
“But it wasn’t even in the script, Hyukjae. Why do it?”
“Maybe she’s a fangirl, hyung,” came YooChun’s voice. He was still grinning widely, trying his best not to laugh. It wasn’t exactly fun to get smacked by a pillow; JaeJoong could still hit like he was twenty. “But that’s not what we were talking about, weren’t we?”
This time, it was YunHo who threw a pillow at YooChun. Unfortunately, though, he hit JunSu instead. After a quick apology to the latter, he turned his attention back to YooChun. “I prefer not to have details. Donghae is still my dongsaeng, one who practically grew up with me.”
“But we’ll all watch the drama, anyway,” YooChun reasoned out, earning a glare from YunHo. He turned to JaeJoong. “C’mon, hyung. You don’t need to give us specifics-although that would be better-”
“PARK YOOCHUN-”
“-just tell us the small stories. Like,” he put his finger on his lips as if this was some hard math problem he had to solve. “Is Jongwoon hyung a good kisser?”
JaeJoong rolled his eyes. “I don’t even want to think about that.”
“But you’re blushing, hyung.”
“It’s the light bouncing off, asshole.”
*
Why does it sound like a war is going on there?
Yehsung shrugged. “YooChun, JunSu, YunHo and Hyukjae are here.”
Ooh! The YooSu and the YunJae! The younger one rolled his eyes. Trust Leeteuk to think about pairings even at that age. Sometimes, he thought, it was Leeteuk who fed the fans bits of information that made the pairings more believable. But anyway, back to our topic. You kissed Donghae, right?
And pretended to have sex with him, yes-Yehsung wanted to add but just gave Leeteuk some vague grunt. How was it? Like a fairytale, he wanted to answer and it almost slipped from his tongue had he not bit it in time. “We were acting, hyung. Whatever it felt like doesn’t really matter.”
Of course, it does, idiot. You’ve been in-love with him since day one and you finally got to kiss him. It would matter to anybody even if they were only acting.
Yehsung closed his suitcase. Of course it mattered. He wasn’t an idiot. Kissing Donghae was the only thing he looked forward to every time they attended the workshop. No matter how much he tried separating himself from his character, there were times where he slipped, when he kissed too passionately, held on a second too long. Donghae never asked, though, and Yehsung never dared to broach the subject.
“You’ve been watching Haru wo Daiteita again, haven’t you?”
You’re evading the question, Jongwoon.
He sighed, plopping on his bed, eyes resting on Donghae’s side of the room. The latter was out buying food for all of them. Pizza, he said and JunSu offered their shop; Junho would gladly deliver it. But Donghae insisted that he would just pick it up; there was something he needed to buy anyway and it was on the way.
“It was like a dream come true, hyung.”
*
“That must be the pizza,” JaeJoong said, almost running away from the sniggering YooChun. He had given in, telling them about the workshop. He didn’t include everything, of course; just enough to satisfy his soul mate’s curiosity for the time being. He opened the door to a grinning Donghae. “Hey,” he greeted. “We’ve been waiting for that.”
Donghae moved closer, lips hovering near his. “Only the pizza, hyung?”
He could answer in a lot of different ways, JaeJoong thought, but they were hungry and the pizza was waiting. Well, that and Donghae’s lips were a little too inviting for comfort. They’ve been dancing like this since last week but they’ve limited it to snuggling and cuddling; kissing, well, when they were the only ones in the room-which, of course, wasn’t the situation now.
But perhaps, he’ll indulge this one time.
He let their lips touch, but just touch, before answering. “You don’t say they’ve be waiting for this, too. I’m not the sharing type, Donghae.”
The younger one nipped at his lower lip, slowly making his through the kiss. “Glad to know that,” he said before releasing JaeJoong. He turned to the people in the living room. “Pizza for everyone!”
By the time they reached the living room, even Hyukjae was cheering and JaeJoong had a very good inkling that it had nothing to do with the pizza finally arriving. YunHo, however, was looking at Donghae in a very protective-father-sort-of-way. But the younger one smiled at him and shrugged; it was like saying that he can take care of himself now.
“Ah, someone should call Jongwoon hyung,” JaeJoong said, clearing the dining table so that Donghae could put the pizza down. “Could you knock on his door, JunSu? I promised we’d inform him when the pizza’s arrived.”
“Sure, hyung.”
*
A dream come true-that was the way he had phrased it. Leeteuk had warned him, reminded him to keep his feet on the ground, and he promised he would. It would be hard work, but he would try his very best. He turned to his side, hugging the bolster Donghae got him for Christmas last year. He would try.
There was a knock on his door. “Hyung?”
JunSu, he thought as he released his hold on the bolster. He got up and opened the door. There was something in his eyes, something he knew he was better off not knowing. JunSu, he noted, should remember that his eyes betrayed his emotions. “Yeah?”
“Pizza’s already here.”
*
While YunHo fussed over Donghae (Hyukjae fussed about YunHo fussing over Donghae and YooChun fussed over the pizza and whatever the dongsaeng bought home), JaeJoong fixed the mess they made in the living room. He should remember never to have pillow fights in the living room; pillow fights should be done in the comforts for one’s room.
He picked up the pillows they threw, making sure not one was left on the floor. He puffed them, putting them back; he’d hate to see Heechul come home and see the mess they-he stopped. Something in between the cushions was vibrating. He put the pillows on one side of the couch and looked for the vibrating thing. He was sure it wasn’t a vibrator; well, at least he’d like to believe it wasn’t.
Aha, he thought when he finally located it. He reached for it, wondering how it got there in the first place. He was sure they weren’t that rowdy. He pulled it up-JunSu’s mobile phone. He was about to call YooChun and tell him when he saw that the mobile phone had an open message.
Missed Call:
ChangMin (home)
tbc.
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