The Art of Deception (Yunho x Jaejoong) - Chapter Twelve
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The Art of Deception (Chapter Twelve)
Pairing: Yunho (DBSK) x Jaejoong (DBSK).
Category: K-Pop.
Length: Multi-chaptered.
Genres: Angst, drama, humor, romance.
Rating: PG-13.
Warning: Homosexuality, light swearing, sexual implications, violence.
Summary: Yunho is a rich son who’s never done anything to earn his own money. Attending snobby diners and appearing in social events with his parents is more than he can take, so he decides to run away, thinking that surely life is better elsewhere - anywhere but his place. Little does he know that it doesn’t get any better in the slums. His thirst for adventure will be quenched - a little too much. Enter street Kabuki actor Kim Jaejoong!
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
***
[Jaejoong’s POV]
“And I’m telling you that you don’t have to do this.”
Taking a deep breath, I promise myself not to lose my temper. I have to stay calm.
I’m currently met with quite a bit of opposition. Though I generously proposed to take him out for dinner, Yunho didn’t seem too thrilled at the idea, not at all. As soon as the offer left my mouth, I knew this wasn’t going to be easy. Now, I’m not used to being opposed. Whatever I say usually goes… But Jung Yunho is a very stubborn man, as he has shown me in the past twenty minutes.
You have made your point. Now stop resisting and say yes already.
Geez… Why is this so hard?
“I already told you. You shouldn’t waste money on me. I know this isn’t just a casual outing for you.”
How can I convince him that all I want is to give him at least one decent meal?
I’m telling him the truth - just not all of it. Nothing wrong with one or two little white lies.
“Is today your birthday?”
“No, it’s not.”
“Then just pretend that it is.”
Dumbfounded, Yunho was so not expecting me to say this that he lets me take his hand and lead him in the direction of the restaurant that I specially handpicked for tonight. Finally, after such a long moment of deliberation and refusal, I’ve gotten what I want. I have won - once again - and the sweet taste of victory lingers in my mouth. No one can resist me for very long… Not forever.
From the side, I can tell Yunho keeps sending inquiring gazes at me, but I don’t satisfy his curiosity.
I’ll let him find out himself what I have in store for him.
Not that I intend to impress him. There must be little that he hasn’t seen or done before.
We walk for a while in silence, before reaching a fancy restaurant on the outskirts of the district. More than a few pairs of eyes follow us closely as we pass them, but I couldn’t care less. The only thing that I feared was to be rejected by Yunho. Not that he’s accepted my feelings (and now that I’ve come to terms with them) I’m not afraid to show them to the world. Let everyone watch all they want…
Before walking in, I already know that we’re going to draw attention.
Beforehand, I prepared the best clothes that I had, so we could hope to blend in the masses and not stand out too much, but despite that, among all those nicely dressed people, we stick out like a sore thumb.
Well, this could be worse…
As we wait for the hostess to greet us, I observe the mundane population curiously.
To think that a few weeks back, Yunho could have been among them… It’s a little hard to imagine.
“Behave yourself.” Yunho leans to the side to whisper in my ear.
A warning? I haven’t even done anything yet.
Not in the mood to be making any promises I won’t be able to keep, I say nothing, something that doesn’t seem to please Yunho. Soon, a woman arrives to lead us to our seats, so there’s nothing more he can say anyway. I know that we might not belong here. I know that there’s probably some kind of dress code to observe, but I don’t really care. My mind is already made. We’re having dinner here.
“A table for two.”
Uneasy, the young woman looks us over, at a loss for words. “Sir, I’m afraid that I can’t…”
“You can’t?”
“Surely you must know that…”
“Know that…?” All smiles and bright eyes, I play innocent, hoping that my plan will succeed. A faux pas would be surprising, but I have failed in the past - once... maybe. “What…? A pretty girl like you wouldn’t kick us out, would she? Why can’t two honest men like us have the pleasure of tasting your wonderful food? We’re just going to eat, and then we’ll leave. How’s that sound?”
“I’m not sure I could-”
“Please, I beg of you. We’ll be good.” I add with a wink full of innuendos.
Something passes over the girl’s face and she blushes, flustered. “In that case, well… Follow me.”
Now that wasn’t much of a challenge…Yunho stares at me unbelievingly as I flash him a smile of satisfaction, following after the hostess as she leads the way through the restaurant. On the way there, we attract our share of insistent gazes, some even rudely eyeing us without even trying to be subtle. I ignore them, sincerely not giving a flying fuck. Who do they think they are anway?
We are led to a private corner of the restaurant - and I think I know why - but I feel thankful to the hostess for letting us have some peace, no matter what her reasons might be.
We take a seat, smiling and bowing by means of thanks, and the woman leaves.
Here come the reproaches.
“Liar.
Okay, I’ll admit that much.
“Manipulator.”
Such a strong word… but it is kind of true.
“Casanova.”
Feeling a grin spread out on my lips, I look up to Yunho, thoroughly amused. “Are you jealous?”
The man pretends not to be bothered by my statement, but I can see that I’ve hit the nail on the head. “…I’m not jealous…” He mutters bitterly, not doing much to prove me wrong. Arms crossed stubbornly, he stares at an invisible spot on the tablecloth, as if nothing in the world was more interesting. “Really, I’m not. You’re free to flirt with whomever you want. Who am I to stop you?”
Someone is in need of a little reassuring. “I didn’t do it because I wanted to. It couldn’t have been helped. Why would I want that woman when I have you?” I reach over for Yunho’s hand on the table and give it a small squeeze as if to ask for a truce. Quirking an eyebrow, he looks up to me.
“Why should I believe you?”
I slump a little lower into my chair and make myself comfortable.
“You don’t have to. I’m just stating facts.”
Yunho’s expression softens and he squeezes my hand in return, visibly relieved to hear that.
But the moment doesn’t last long as he rolls his eyes and sighs a little. “Don’t do that.” He grumbles, pointing at my feet which are comfortably resting on the table. Even when I pretend not to understand where he’s coming from, he persists. “People are staring. Don’t you have any matters? Just keep your feet where they belong-” Before I can understand what’s happening, he reaches forward to grab my feet and take them off the table, almost making me topple over in the process. “-on the floor.”
Live and let live. Does any one of them know the expression?
I peer over my shoulder and glare daggers at the customers, hoping that the message will go through. Upon being caught red-handed, they all look down in their plates, intimidated.
Now that this is settled, I turn back to face Yunho with a grin, but he doesn’t seem to find me funny.
“I thought we agreed on ‘not attracting attention to ourselves’.”
“Hey, it’s not my fault I’m so good-looking.”
“You’re a vain man.”
He says that with a full-blown, beautiful smile, so I can assume that he’s not mad at me.
Meanwhile, a waitress comes by to bring us the menus, looking as surprised to see us as the woman that preceded her. She recovers quickly and smiles at us brightly, taking on her role - rather admirably, I have to admit. I take the pile from her hands, but I keep her from leaving, claiming that we already know what we want (to which Yunho asks ‘we do?’). Perplexed, the waitress grabs her pen and notepad.
Flipping through the leaflet lazily, I start pointing at random things so quickly that the poor thing has a hard time keeping up. “We’ll have this, and this, and this, and this… with a little bit of this, and this, too.” I give her a second to catch up. She finishes scribbling a few words on her tablet and nods, ready to leave, but I hold her back before she can go anywhere. “Wait! Can you add this and… this? Thanks.”
Now beyond bewildered, she jots down a few lines and asks me if that is all.
“Yup. I’ll call you if we need anything else.”
She trots off without further ado. The following minutes - surely the longest of my life - are spent with Yunho lecturing me about the wrongfulness of tormenting people. I listen with half an ear, disliking being reprimanded the most. What’s taking them so long? I feel like I’m about to die of hunger…
Finally, after what seems to be at least two eternities, the waitress comes back.
In fact, there are three of them, as one couldn’t possibly carry everything that I ordered.
My stomach grumbles noisily.
“Yes. You can-yeah, just leave it all here. Thanks. Thanks.”
Once all the dishes have been set down in front of us, delicious aromas mixing together and filling our noses, and now that the waiters have gone back with their tails behind their legs, probably wanting to get as far from us as possible (which is all fine with me, really), I start dividing the food between us, picking generous portions for myself and serving Yunho just as much. Unsure, he eyes the food hungrily, but I can see that something is holding him back. “Are you sure you can afford all that?”
I shrug carelessly. “You’re worrying too much. Come on, hurry up before it’s cold!”
“Are you sure you can eat all that?”
“Not if you’re not gonna help me. I said eat.”
“I think this will all go to waste. You bite off more than you can chew.”
I put down my menu. “Are you questioning the capacity of my stomach? Don’t underestimate me.”
We share a long look, testing, assessing each other, and then Yunho simply bursts out laughing because this is all pointless and maybe a little pathetic. And I feel myself smiling against my will at the mere sight of him. Funny how I can’t seem to stay mad at him… Deciding to seize the occasion to eat our fill, not wanting to throw away so much food, we pick up our utensils and start digging in with appetite.
To be honest, I feel kind of bad not letting the others in on this… I think that asking for doggie bags might be overdoing it a little. I’ll just have to come back with them some other day… like we have before. Can’t expect us to survive all our life off rice and not much of anything else.
Not much time passes before I notice that something is wrong.
Yunho has stopped eating and is regarding me with a mix of annoyance and… distaste?
What did I do to deserve this?
Completely in the dark about whatever caused Yunho to be in that mood, I observe him curiously, raising an eyebrow to ask for an explanation, which he hurries to provide me. “Eating with your hands isn’t something you should do, Jae. Try using chopsticks for a change.”
Oh, that conversation. I was apprehending it.
Grabbing a pair and snapping them apart, I struggle to place them between my fingers properly and lift a piece of food - but I fail terribly. Already giving up, I drop the chopsticks in my plate. “Aishhhhh… I don’t like those annoying wooden sticks. Isn’t it easier this way?” I complain impatiently, picking a dumpling with my fingers and stuffing it between Yunho’s parted lips, surprising him.
After chewing the mouthful carefully, making sure to empty his mouth completely, Yunho speaks up. How very polite of him. “That may be, but it makes you look like a caveman.”
Ensuring that my mouth is full of partially chewed food, I retort a careless ‘Whuddeva’.
Yunho shakes his head in despair, tsking his disapproval. “You’re disgusting.”
How I enjoy doing this to him.
Deciding to leave it at that, I snigger and shrug shamelessly, going back to my plate… well, plates. Yunho chuckles deeply to himself before taking a bite from his own.
“Tell me again how in the hell I managed to fall for you? Seriously?”
“Beats me.”
Feeling a sudden (uncharacteristic) surge of good will, I accept to call a truce and grab a spoon. “This is the best I can do.” It better be enough for him. I’m making efforts here. But Yunho appears to be satisfied with the compromise, as his grateful eyes seem to want to say. Not saying anything in return, he proceeds to eat his fill (and perhaps more), because he knows that he might not get such an opportunity in a while.
Which brings us to the moment of truth. Paying the bill.
Displaying an expression of content satiety, Yunho crosses his arms, leaning back against his chair.
“Ahhh…! Thanks for the food. It was very generous of you. Though I feel a little bad for making you pay for me like this… I’ll definitely make it up to you one day.” Since I’m the one to have invited him, and since I know that he knows that I know that he has “lost” his wallet (we’ll say ‘lost’ to save him the embarrassment of the actual truth), he assumes that I’m going to take care of the bill.
Right… about that…
Since I can’t really risk that everyone hear what I’m about to tell him, I inch closer to Yunho, leaving my chair to sit on the wall seat, next to him. Suddenly, his attitude changes completely, and the earlier bliss of a filled stomach disappears. The way he tenses up says a lot: he knows something is wrong. “The thing is… how can I say this… I don’t exactly have any money to spare.”
I swear Yunho whirls around so fast he almost knocks everything down the table.
“What did you say?!”
A few heads turn our way, looking scandalized, while others are too ashamed or creeped out to look.
Some people even get up from their table and leave quickly.
Scratch what I thought earlier. There are ways for me to get mad at Yunho. Namely when he’s being a careless idiot… like now. Slightly annoyed by his lack of finesse, I grab his shoulder and bring him closer to me so he can hear me whispering to his face. “Do you always have to be so fucking loud? I said I’m broke! I don’t have a penny! Nothing! Do I have to spell it out for you?”
If Yunho didn’t understand at first, there’s no way he doesn’t now.
Why is he looking so let down?
“What did you expect, really? People don’t become rich overnight.”
Visibly disappointed by me, Yunho looks down at his hands before looking to the side, away from me. “You’re right. What did I expect. Honesty? This wouldn’t have been like you.”
Okay, that hurts a little.
Unable to bite back for the first time in my life, I opt for a faint pout very unlike me. That’s it. I already regret coming here tonight. “You’re mean. And I don’t want to hear this from you.”
“Then why are we… don’t tell me… you can’t be thinking…”
“Aish… Let’s go. No one’s looking.”
“No! We can’t just dine and dash…”
“Then what do you suggest we do? You don’t have money either. We’re both in deep shit.”
“I can’t believe this is happening…”
“Can you be more obvious? Just relax, be natural and no one will notice. Come on now.”
Making sure that everyone’s attention is on anything/anyone but us, I get up casually, stuffing my hands in my pockets and motioning with my head for Yunho to follow after me. At first (and I can’t believe what I’m seeing), he doesn’t move from his seat, his eyes challenging me to leave and abandon him. But when he understands that I have every intention to go - with or without him -, he stands up reluctantly and walks up to my side, slipping an arm around mine loosely. He doesn’t look too happy.
On my cue, we start walking leisurely towards the cash register, trying to look everything but suspicious, which is kind of hard given, well… everything that makes us so distinct and different. Definitely, I wouldn’t say that this is particularly big to me, nor that it’s something I have no experience in, but as for Yunho, he’s shaking against me, which is kind of distracting, to say the least.
What a sensitive little boy.
Now right by the cash register, we try to blend into the background and do not stop, instead making for the front door. Everything is smoothly going according to plan, we’re almost there, almost out of here, when I feel Yunho tense up suddenly. What caused him to be this way, I don’t know, but he curses under his breath as he stares at a nearby table, where two middle-aged couples are enjoying a costly dinner.
“Shit.” Out of the blue, he grabs me by the arm and pulls me along with him forcefully, running for it.
What’s going on? Why is he stirring such a fuss? At this rate, we’ll be caught for sure…
And sure enough, just like I predicted…
“Thieves! You haven’t paid for your meals yet! Someone stop them, please!”
Since Yunho has completely frozen at the sound (does he have survival instinct at all?), I give a hard tug on his arm and make sure that he’s going to follow me before I dash off. “Run!” Never letting go of each other’s hand, we escape our fate together, the sound of trampling footsteps behind us indicating that we have pursuers. But they’re out of luck, since they’re dealing with me. They won’t get us.
I know these streets better than the back of my hand. They have no chance at all.
Quicker than the wind, I lead Yunho inside the dark alleyways and throughout them. He has a hard time keeping up, but it seems like a little rush of adrenaline is adding a spring to his steps.
Almost as soon as we enter the scary underworld that not many would dare venture into, the people chasing us give up, preferring to lose a little money than to risk losing their life.
Before long, we’re out of sight, safe.
But I’m not out of trouble yet. There’s this feeling that I’m going to get it…
A strong pair of arms grabs me and secures me against the brick wall, making sure that I’ll listen to whatever their owner has to say to me. “You. Are. Dirty. And I feel really awful, you know…? Why did you do that?” The faint moonlight that filters through the cramped buildings makes his guilty expression vaguely visible to me. “Why did you drag me into this? I swear you’re a danger to my health...”
Of course he has to be exaggerating. “It’s not gonna kill you-”
“It already is! How am I going to sleep, now?”
Feeling a slight twinge to my heart, it’s only then that I realize how big this is to him. If I had known…
“…I just wanted to take you out, is this so bad…?”
“When you don’t have the means to do it, I’m afraid that yes, it is.”
Though he most likely doesn’t mean to offend me, his words kind of hurt, sharp and true that they are. This must be written all over my face, because Yunho almost immediately apologizes, pulling me into a hug and squeezing me tightly between his arms in a comforting embrace. “…I’m sorry. I know it’s not your fault. I know you meant good. But don’t do it again, okay? I know I said my previous life was boring, but this is a little too much action at once. Anyone could have recognized me…”
My head, which had naturally nestled in the crook of his shoulder, perks up at the news. Yunho continues. “My parents were eating at a table right by the front door. I never thought I would run into them there…”
So that explains his earlier reaction.
Nodding in understanding, I lower my eyes a little, my mind filled with unwanted thoughts.
“Do you miss them?” I ask Yunho, trying not to make my voice sound too bitter.
As much as I don’t want to admit it, I don’t want him to go yet.
The wind suddenly picks up, slightly chilly, and I shiver uncontrollably. Sensing my discomfort, Yunho pulls me against his chest and rubs my back to warm me up. “Not particularly. I just need more getting used to this new life of mine… but I have no intention to go, so don’t worry.”
“I’m not worried.” I grumble grumpily before pushing him away, heading home.
As soon as I start walking, I can hear him following after me.
In the still of the night…
I have half a thought for the poor hostess who got fooled by me. But at the same time…
I’m a man of my word, aren’t I?
I said we would eat and leave. I never said we would pay.
Chapter Thirteen