(no subject)
Title: A Man and His Tiger (Or is it the other way around?)
Length: one-shot
Author: Li Youhan (Razra_Eizel)
Rating: PG-13
Genre: romance, humor, fluff
Pairing: Yunjae, other side pairings
Summary: Jaejoong, Yoochun, Junsu, Changmin and Hayoung are veterinary students. Going with Hayoung’s suggestion, they decided to take a short vacation in a small cabin at the top of a mountain for a get together before their last semester. Little did they know that there would be more to it than just a simple vacation, causing Changmin to constantly wonder why they still take everything the snake Hayoung said at face value
Disclaimer: I don’t own anything
A/N: based on a plunny (http://jaeho-plot.livejournal.com/157402.html) by chocolick :D thanks again for letting me adopt this one, hun :3
The chapter title is a parody of the Narnia’s title :PPPP no, not really. I’m just very crappy at making titles
As has been promised, I’m posting this up when the third part is already halfway through. I’m not quite sure yet when this will end, but hopefully not long. Anyway, this is a new year gift from me :D hope you all have a good new year eve (because I’m having a crappy and boring one right now :P)
Oh, and I’m still hoping for the greeting cards *bricked* (please refer to the previous post)
Part Two - The Lion, the Snake, the Tiger, and the Human
The next morning Hayoung had left early, saying she wished to go fishing in the stream running in the woods. The stream was close to their cabin, so she wasn’t worried. Also, she believed in the animal protectors of the woods.
Changmin had warned him to be careful, but she merely waved it off. Yonghwa went out at around the same time, but said he would be visiting the village. Hayoung wasn’t the only one treated specially by the villagers, so he liked visiting the village too.
After eating his own breakfast, Jaejoong decided he would catch up with the girl. He wanted to see for himself what the woods was like, and if he could see one of the animal protectors that they talked about so much. As he was treading the pathway, following the sound of running water, he paused when he saw a curious sight.
A lion, with golden fur and golden-red mane, easily twice his size, was lying on a bed of leaves, its body curled up but its head raised high as it stared right in front of it, bright eyes watching the clear water.
The lion wasn’t the curious sight.
It was the fact that Hayoung was sitting there, leaning against the lion’s side, a fishing rod resting on a makeshift holder, waiting for a fish to bite the bait that was curious. Her posture was relaxed and easy, and if he didn’t know any better, he would say she was sleeping.
The scene was so peaceful that he was afraid to disrupt the atmosphere so he kept quiet. As he watched, he saw the tiger that he saw yesterday making its way over to the duo, and resting on Hayoung’s other side. Hayoung reached out to pet the tiger’s head, then turned to stare at the stream so he couldn’t see her face.
After a few more minutes of watching, he finally walked back out of the woods, leaving Hayoung and the two animals be. He walked down to the local village instead, thinking of catching up to Yonghwa.
“Excuse me,” he asked the elderly woman who owned the bakery. “Have you seen Yonghwa around?”
The woman chuckled. “No, he’s probably up there.”
“He said he’s coming down to the village,” Jaejoong replied.
The woman stared at her, then nodded in understanding. However, what kind of understanding she reached was still unknown to him. “Well, he’s not here, that’s all I know. You’re welcome to look around for what you’d like, young man. All the goods are still fresh at this kind of hour.”
Jaejoong wondered if Yonghwa had come back up to the cabin while he was watching Hayoung, but then decided it wasn’t that important. He agreed to follow the woman’s advice, and began shopping for baked goods.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
“My, you look quite dashing,” Hayoung said as she giggled, giving the man sitting on her right side a once-over.
“Oi, what is that supposed to mean?” Yonghwa asked as he pulled her back to press his chest against her back. “Are you having second thoughts about me?”
“Of course not,” Hayoung said with a sigh. “You’re so insecure.”
Yonghwa sulked and buried his face in her hair.
“You’ve seen him, then?” Hayoung asked again, looking back at the black-haired man sitting in front of her. “Is he to your taste?”
“I’ve only seen him physically,” the man answered. “I still need to see how he is personality-wise, before I make my decision.”
“Oh?” Hayoung asked. “But Yonghwa chose me so soon. Or did you choose me just because of my looks?”
Yonghwa’s chest rumbled in laughter. “Of course not,” he said. “I’ve been watching you since you came to this cabin years ago. You just didn’t see me.”
“Stalker,” Hayoung said with a grin. “Well, keep watching then. We’ll be here for two weeks. But I’m sure he’ll be to your taste. He’s a good man.”
The man’s lips twitched into a smile. “I’m sure. Thank you for helping me, Go-shii.”
“Pssh, nonsense. I’m just glad to be of help,” Hayoung tutted.
“More like she’s glad to be able to set someone else up,” Yonghwa butted in. “I’m sure that after this she will be trying to set Changmin up with someone.”
“Oh, no,” Hayoung said as she shook her head. “He’s always suspicious of me. I can’t set him up without a hitch.”
“That’s because you’re such a snake,” Yonghwa pointed out, and laughed as Hayoung reached over to pinch his side.
“And you can call me by my name, Yunho-shii,” Hayoung added. “We’ll be seeing a lot of each other for these two weeks, won’t we?”
Yunho smiled. “Yes,” he confirmed. “And if things go as planned, I suspect even after that.”
“Good,” Hayoung said. She paused, then spoke up again, “So, is it true that you’ve been complaining about loneliness?”
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
“Welcome back hyung,” Junsu greeted from his mug of coffee. “Would you like some coffee?”
“Sure,” Jaejoong replied. “I bought some croissants and tea cakes.”
“Nice,” Yoochun commented. “Did you see Yonghwa down there?”
“No,” Jaejoong answered. “Mrs. Kim said he’s probably up there. Maybe he caught up with Hayoung.”
“Maybe,” Changmin said as he joined them at the dining table. “No need to worry about them, though. They can look after themselves.”
“Of course,” Junsu said. “Still, it’s nearly lunch time. Maybe we should go and call them back for lunch.”
“We should,” Jaejoong agreed.
“You’re only saying that because you want Yonghwa to cook lunch,” Yoochun said teasingly. He took a cookie from the tin and bit into it. “Won’t we be still full by then though?”
“I can still eat,” Changmin said.
“Aish, you,” Junsu said as he rolled his eyes. “When are you too full to eat?”
“Let me see... never?” Changmin asked back with a wide grin.
“Well, let’s just leave them be while we snack then,” Yoochun said, taking another cookie from the tin. “It’s their loss.”
“Don’t be so cruel. Hayoung likes the butter cookies, so save some for her,” Jaejoong chided.
“Of course,” Changmin said. “As long as two are considered some.”
“Yah! She’ll kill you if she heard that!”
“What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
“Is something wrong?” Yunho asked when he saw Hayoung tensing slightly, and Yonghwa wrapped his arms tighter around her waist.
“Can you feel that?” Hayoung asked, looking towards a cluster of trees that hid the path behind it from sight.
“Yeah, I can smell it,” Yonghwa said, and Yunho nodded in agreement. “You’re getting better, aren’t you? To sense it even before us.”
Hayoung grinned. “Snakes are good at self-preservation,” she said, then stood up. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
The two men stood up and dusted the dry leaves from their clothes, and Hayoung did the same. There was a slight rustling, but the sound was still slightly distant.
“Take her out of here,” Yunho said. “I’ll stall it.”
“Will you be alright?” Hayoung asked.
“Yeah,” Yunho said with a grin. “I’m not going to try and fight it all out. I’m just buying you time to get out of this woods safely.”
Hayoung nodded, then held onto Yonghwa’s arm tightly.
“Remember, no matter what happens, don’t stop,” Yunho said, turning to face the trees again. “Our priority is to get her out of here safely.”
“I know,” Yonghwa said. “Come, Hayoung. Hold on tight and don’t let go.”
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Their days at the cabin passed almost uneventfully. The place was calm and peaceful, quiet and serene. It felt like they were visiting a relative at the countryside instead of going somewhere packed and crowded for a holiday.
It was the end of their first week in the cabin, and Hayoung found herself in the woods again, together with Yonghwa and Yunho. Ever since their discussion by the stream, the three met up almost daily to discuss Yunho’s progress in stalking-I mean, watching Jaejoong.
“You’re right, he’s a good person,” Yunho said with a smile as he patted Hayoung’s head. “I should never doubt your judgment. After all, you chose the best of us.”
“I chose her, not the other way around,” Yonghwa protested.
Hayoung giggled while Yunho chuckled.
“No, Yonghwa, she chose you,” Yunho explained. “You wouldn’t have been attracted to her if she didn’t.”
“So that means Jaejoong chose you?” Hayoung asked, raising an eyebrow. “I don’t get it.”
“When a potential mate comes up to this place, all of us will be there watching,” Yunho said. “The one you saw first is the one you chose.”
“Huh, I thought there was only Yonghwa there,” Hayoung admitted. “But yeah, you should never doubt my judgment.”
Yonghwa laughed and shook his head. “So what are your plans?”
“You should go down to the village, Yunho,” Hayoung suggested. “Then you can bump into Jae or something.”
“We’re not allowed to go down there except with our mate,” Yunho said. “That’s why Yonghwa never goes to the village by himself.”
“But that means you can still go there if Jae goes, right?” Hayoung asked again.
“He’s not my mate until he expresses his consent,” Yunho said, smiling at her and patting her head again. “Don’t worry, little girl. We’ll find a way.”
“If you say so,” Hayoung said, then pouted. “I’ll think of something. There has to be a loophole somewhere.”
“Or you can leave it all to Fate,” Yonghwa said. “After all, we met the first time because of fate too.”
“Maybe I should ask Jae to come to the woods with me,” Hayoung suggested. “Then you can join us.”
“We’ll see,” Yunho said, chuckling again. “Let’s all do our best, shall we?”
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
The first day of their second week, Yonghwa and Hayoung were going down to the village, and Jaejoong asked her permission to borrow her fishing rod. He wanted to try fishing, and he was fascinated by the clear stream, so Hayoung agreed, with a warning to be careful about the bears in the woods.
The sun was shining brightly, and the water sparkled under the rays. Jaejoong hummed to himself as he watched the fishing float bobbed. It was very peaceful, with only the occasional sounds of the forest to accompany him, and he didn’t wonder why Hayoung almost daily visited the woods. It was a very nice place.
After about two hours and still no luck, Jaejoong finally gave up and packed away the fishing equipment. He was about to go out of the woods when he heard a low growl, and against his better decision, decided to check.
He walked into a clearing, and saw an injured tiger. The same tiger he had been seeing in the woods the last week. Its right hind leg was injured badly, and along its right side was a narrow gash.
“Oh my,” Jaejoong said as he walked over to the tiger. The tiger growled at him, and he paused. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he said, showing both his hands that were holding onto nothing. He had left the box of fishing equipment at the entrance of the clearing. “Would you come with me? I don’t have anything with me right now, but we have a first aid kit and I brought some simple tools with me.”
He silently wondered why he was speaking with the tiger, then wondered if it could understand him. Most of the patients’ pets that he had seen understood exactly what their masters said, but it might be because they’ve been spending a lot of time together. With an animal of the wild, he wasn’t so sure.
“Come on, we have to get out of here,” Jaejoong urged again, motioning at the tiger to come closer.
The tiger sniffed, but then stood up with much difficulty, and began clambering towards Jaejoong.
“Jae!” Hayoung shouted, and Jaejoong turned around. “There you are!”
Hayoung joined him, then paused when she saw the injured tiger. “Oh my,” she said. “Take him out of here. I’ll stall.”
“What are you talking about?” Jaejoong asked. “Stall what?”
“There’s a bear nearby,” Hayoung said as she narrowed her eyes, her senses tingling. “I’ll stall it for as long as you need to get him out of here, but be quick. I can’t hold it off forever.”
“But-“
“Go now!” Hayoung urged.
Jaejoong was about to protest again, but he reasoned that the sooner they got out of the woods, the sooner Hayoung would come out of it as well, so he turned back to the tiger and urged it to follow him out of the woods. The tiger obeyed silently, trying its best not to put too much pressure on its injured leg.
He walked towards the exit of the woods, the tiger following closely, and Hayoung was trailing behind, about four meters away from him. About two-thirds of the way out, the bear made its appearance, roaring and growling.
“Hayoung!” Jaejoong shouted in panic.
“Don’t worry about me!” she shouted back. “Just get the tiger out!”
Jaejoong frowned in worry. He didn’t like putting anyone in danger, especially because of him. Hayoung would never be able to fight off a bear.
He was about to suggest that they switched roles, so that Hayoung was the one guiding the tiger out instead, when the lion he had often seen together with Hayoung charged out from the bushes with a mighty roar and tackled the bear down.
The lion looked nothing like the usual calm and quiet lion he always saw. It bared its fangs in a menacing manner, growling and narrowing its eyes at the bear, ready to rip it to shreds and feed from it. However, it held back, and instead stood between Hayoung and the bear.
Jaejoong let out a small sigh of relief, knowing that Hayoung was no longer in imminent danger. He focused on his task of guiding the tiger out, and when he did, he led it back to the cabin, and Hayoung soon joined them.
“How is your lion?” Jaejoong asked when he saw Hayoung walking towards him.
“He’s fine,” Hayoung said with a wide smile. “He’s resting now, but he’s not injured.”
“Good,” Jaejoong said. “Would you give me a hand?”
“Sure,” Hayoung agreed, staring at the tiger that was now lying down on the wooden floor, its injured leg propped up with a cushion. “Thank you, tiger,” she said, petting its head. “He couldn’t have defeated the bear by himself if you hadn’t injured it first.”
The tiger let out a seemingly content growl of approval, and Jaejoong chuckled, pulling out the necessary tools to treat the injured leg.
Hopefully, it wouldn’t cause a racket while he disinfected the wound.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Junsu had screamed in fear when he walked into the cabin and saw the tiger lazily lounging at the corner of the living room. Hayoung and Yonghwa had quickly got there and explained the situation to all three before they let the tiger be, as long as it didn’t try to hurt them.
“He won’t,” Hayoung said as she beamed. “He’s one of the protectors of the woods. They don’t harm humans.”
“If you say so,” Changmin said with a shrug. “It’s healing now?”
“Yes,” Jaejoong answered. “I’ve treated the wound. Thankfully, its leg isn’t broken. Now that the wound is disinfected, it shouldn’t cause any complication. Once the wounds have closed, it’s free to go.”
“I see,” Yoochun said, staring at the tiger. “What should we feed it?”
“We still have some raw meat,” Jaejoong commented. “But I’m not sure it’ll be enough. Don’t tigers eat a lot?”
“You should go down and ask the butcher for some meat,” Hayoung suggested. “Tell him the Siberian tiger is injured and is at our place. He’ll provide the necessary meat for him.”
“Oh?” Jaejoong asked. “Won’t they be suspicious?”
“No, not at all,” Hayoung said. “If you don’t really have him here, you won’t know its species.”
“Well, it’s worth a try, I guess,” Jaejoong said. “Anyone wants anything else from the village?”
The other four shook their heads and he went down to the local village.
After Jaejoong went off, Yoochun and Junsu returned to their room and Changmin did the same. They were waiting for either Yonghwa or Jaejoong to prepare dinner first.
“Yonghwa,” Hayoung called as she walked into the kitchen and watched him work. “What would happen if Yunho is to transform while injured?”
“He’s highly advised not to,” Yonghwa commented, chopping a carrot as he stared blankly. “Hm, well, since the anatomy and physiology of a man and a tiger is so different, there might be some complications if he attempts to shift. For now, he’s stuck in this form.”
“I see,” Hayoung mumbled. “Can he come down with us later? I mean, when we left. Can he come to the city?”
“I did, didn’t I?” Yonghwa asked as he chuckled. “Once we have a potential mate, we can transform and go after them, even to the end of the world.”
“That is such a cheesy line.”
“I know, but I’m born cheesy.”
“If you get any cheesier, I’m going to grate you to top off my pizza.”
Yonghwa laughed. He put the chopped carrots into the pot of boiling water, and went on to chop other vegetables.
“Are you really alright?” Hayoung asked worriedly, walking over to Yonghwa and resting her hand on his arm. “You don’t usually settle for something so simple.”
“I’m not hurt, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Yonghwa said as he turned around and pressed a kiss on the crown of Hayoung’s head. “I’m just a little sore. I haven’t transformed in a long time, and haven’t fought anything.”
“Can you transform outside of the woods, though?” Hayoung asked. “If you can, maybe you should transform a lot in our house. I’ll lock the door.”
“I’ve never tried,” Yonghwa admitted. “Well, do you want to help me prepare dinner?”
Hayoung scrunched her nose. Yonghwa knew she disliked cooking with a passion, and he found it cute. She reasoned that since Yonghwa was an excellent cook, she didn’t need to know how to cook complicated dishes. As long as she could cook fried rice she would survive.
“Come on,” Yonghwa tugged at her arm. “It’ll be fun.”
“For you, maybe,” Hayoung said, sniffing in distaste. “But fine. I don’t want to be accused of being a heartless bastard who let her boyfriend cook alone while he’s not feeling up to it.”
Yonghwa only chuckled, wisely deciding to say nothing.
Later when Jaejoong returned from the village with the meat supplied by the butcher, he raised an eyebrow at the sight of the tiger sleeping side by side with the lion, and Hayoung in the middle, but said nothing. He smiled, and tiptoed to the kitchen.
He wondered if it was a brave or rash move as he lay down beside the tiger, leaning slightly against its back, and fluttered his eyes close, drifting into dreamless sleep.
End of Part Two
That’s it! Hope you like :D and if you do, please leave a comment~