Sweetest of Vengeance - Ch 4
Ever since entering the venue of that Saturday night’s party, which happened to be the Choi’s residence, Rain had been receiving odd stares and needn’t have to wonder what the fuss was all about. He himself had been glancing at his side that was supposed to be occupied by Jaejoong. Then again, if the beauty was there, he’d probably be sitting on his lap rather than a chair. Heck, they’d probably be making out at the moment. Rain could only groan in melancholy because honestly, he didn’t have the heart to blame Jaejoong.
“Hyung!”
Someone tapped Rain’s shoulder that made him tear his gaze from the cold drink on his hand. “Oi, Shiwon! I’m sorry Jaejoong couldn’t come.”
“So that explains it.” The tall boy addressed as Shiwon nodded in realization. “No wonder they’re disappearing at such rate. They’ll all be gone in no time.” He spoke familiarly, well, he had the right anyway. He and Rain had been friends since he joined the basketball team which happened to have the older guy as the captain.
“I’m afraid so. He had been studying since morning.” Rain flatly stated, awaiting the doomed expression on his new companion’s face, or his eyebrows more likely.
As anticipated, Shiwon knitted his eyebrows, so knitted one wouldn’t even notice they were actually two eyebrows and not a line.
“I know.” The elder chuckled at the other’s unresponsiveness which he understood very well. His boyfriend was after all, known for his uncanny ability to party all night long and go bar hopping without a single sweat dropped but a minute with his books open could have him bed ridden for a week. “He had a deal with Yunho. If he fails his exams, we’re over.”
Shiwon was glad that Rain decided it was better to explain before his eyebrows could tell his brain he should go crazy. “You mean, Yunho the genius?” He raised an eyebrow and seriously, he needn’t have to ask because the movement of his brows had spelled his question which Rain answered with a nod. “Someone’s getting lucky here. First, you get to have Jaejoong, I mean Jaejoong.” At first, he was trying to tease his hyung, but it turned out he was getting envious. “Then, you had him studying for the sake of your relationship and god knows he’d only do that when he’s caught in a life and death situation.”
A proud smile made its way to Rain’s lips. “But I’m afraid he’s not doing it for me.” The smile was sweet but it was somewhat bitter.
Before Shiwon could respond, he heard his name somewhere. “Oh, hold on.” He stood up and was about to head off to somewhere when Rain held him back.
“Tell everyone to drop Jae a message to cheer him up.”
Shiwon nodded and it was only after he turned to leave that a content smile appeared on his face. He then halted and turned to face Rain again. “But still, you’re lucky. You know I’d kill to be in your place, but I’m afraid I can’t reach his standards.”
“Lucky, you say? Maybe not, ‘cause I won’t be getting any tonight.” He chuckled.
---
Jaejoong awoke as a start without opening his eyes. His hands blindly rummaged through the bed, then to the nightstand, his eager fingers trying to find his phone. It has been his nature to ring Rain first thing in the morning, though usually, he would be the last person he sees the previous night, except last night of course. Well, it had only been two weeks since they started dating, but before Rain came into the picture, it was already his routine to phone his boyfriend, whoever it was, and not the other way around. Never in his life had he wished his beauty rest to be held back.
The raven had been feeling lethargic that morning. It must be his so-called sickness taking its toll on him. He cracked an eye open; quite painfully at that, only to find messages waiting for him to read. It was then that he woke up, as in really woke up, wondering how he was going to read them all without having to strain his already strained eyes.
It was fifteen minutes later when he, finally, finished reading forty-seven messages. An amused and, though he hate to admit it, a high-school-girl-who-just-received-a-bouquet-of-flowers-from-her-long-time-crush kind of smile lit his face up. He could only think of one person who would and only could do such a thing - his hunny bun, sugar plum, pumpy umpy umpy umpkin - his sweetie pie. “Hey.” He spoke immediately when the other line was picked up, his voice cracking up in the process.
The sound of Rain’s laughter reached Jaejoong’s ear, thus, earning a pout on the beauty’s lips. “Morning, sleepy head.”
“Thanks.” Jaejoong chose to brush off the insult.
“What for?”
Pouting deeper, the brunette wondered why his boyfriend was being extra playful that particular morning, and for some reasons he didn’t want to bother himself citing, he liked it. “You didn’t drink much out of depression because you didn’t see me yesterday, did you?” He threw the playfulness back.
“Not really, it’s because I didn’t get any.”
“Pervert.”
“But you like it anyway.”
---
Jaejoong scratched his head but pulled his hand back as the thought of damaging his scalp hit him. He had been studying English since morning, with Yunho trying to force foreign words into his brain with no such luck. He huffed. It wasn’t his fault that they didn’t fit in his pretty little brain, was it? Besides, his head was already occupied with the formulas he had memorized for Trigonometry, Geometry and Algebra. Now, didn’t he deserve a standing ovation for such an achievement?
Three times, Yunho tapped his pen on the table to get Jaejoong’s attention, who was obviously zoning off. “Still don’t get it?” He got the other’s head shaking as a reply. “Okay, let’s do it this way. Give me an English sentence you know, anything will do.”
Trying to recall anything from the foreign movies he had seen with Rain and his exes, he rested his elbow on the table, his chin on his palm. He was in deep thought, so deep his eyes turned dreamy to the extent that one might think he was daydreaming, well, maybe he was. “I love you.” He then turned his gaze towards his brother.
Yunho felt weird hearing those words slip his brother’s mouth and had to wonder if the other understood what he had said. Brushing the thought aside, he decided to get down to business. He wrote the sentence down the paper as he explained. “That sentence is an example of subject-verb-object sentence pattern. I being the subject, love being the verb and you being the object.” He watched Jaejoong closely to make sure he could follow; which the other seemed to, or at least he hoped. “Now, give me five sentences replacing one of those words at a time.”
Jaejoong tried with all might not to glare at Yunho and make a donut hole on his face. He was certain the other was making it hard for him, making fun of him even. Yunho was so going to get it soon. The brunette just couldn’t wait to see his brother mourning over the top spot he was about to lose. With the new found motivation, if that even counted as one, he wanted to give it a shot. He wasn’t planning on losing any time soon, plus, there was this little reward Rain had promised him that morning. And he quoted - I will throw a party for you if you win the deal - slash quote. Now, that was one heck of a motivation. He cleared his throat before he gave Yunho the answer he needed. “I love Bloody Mary. I love Margarita. I love Martini. I love Purple Passion. I love Sex on the Beach.” He finished with a smile so proud. It wasn’t as hard as Yunho made it seemed to be, but was sort of a piece of cake.
Truth be told, Yunho never expected things to go this way. He had his mind set not to let Jaejoong get through his defensive system, but it turned out to be hacked. Losing his cool in front of his younger brother wasn’t the best idea; in fact, it had been the worst case scenario he had in mind. They probably needed a break, a good one at that, to let him recollect himself.
“So, am I qualified to move on to Chemistry now?” Not that he favoured Chemistry over English. Come to think of it, he never favoured anything over, well, anything. He had to wonder if there could be a subject he could call his favourite.
“Let’s take a break. It’s time for lunch anyway.” Yunho stood up from his seat and felt familiar arms around one of his. Yes, it was exactly the same scene as the previous day. He was starting to muse if Jaejoong was naturally that clingy or if he had acquired the leech’s genes. “For additional info which you might have missed, Mom and Dad stay out on Sundays so I have to prepare my own lunch.”
“Oh.” The younger nodded, obviously oblivious to his parents’ activities. “What about my lunch?” Worry clearly painted Jaejoong’s face. He hadn’t been one to starve himself, never. He needn’t have to go on a diet to keep his figure perfect. Besides, he was never used to getting hungry for his previous boyfriends always had his food served on a silver platter, and some had done it literally too.
Freeing his arm from the brunette’s, he spoke, “I’m not as heartless as you think I am.” He patted his brother’s head like the child Jaejoong was. “Do whatever you want as I go cook. Just, don’t make too much mess.”
What Yunho said had Jaejoong zone off for a while that he didn’t realize his brother was getting away. “Wait!” If Yunho thought he could escape and trick him just like that, he was so damn wrong. He wasn’t very convinced that it was a recipe book Yunho would be opening later and not his notes. “I’m coming.”
---
It wasn’t boredom that made Yunho rest his chin on his palm and his finger tap the dining table. He would rather call it amusement. He silently sat, as he had been given the option, watched, as he had been ordered, and sat again. He had been in the same state for the past 15 minutes, sitting and watching Jaejoong cook, if you call tossing (but Yunho decided it was throwing since toss was actually a plausible term in cooking) stuff into the pot. Setting his logic aside, he didn’t dare to speak as he let Jaejoong enjoy the fantasy that he can make something edible. Well, something, definitely the raven can formulate, but edible? It was a different story. The elder also took note of the other’s singing, Hyori’s Toc Toc Toc if he wasn’t mistaken, which made the whole scene all the more exciting. Although the younger wouldn’t make the best chef, at least he could pass as a singer. But what made it interesting was the fact that he had chosen to sing a female song, and nailed it.
Jaejoong rummaged through the kitchen for an apron. After what seemed like five minutes, he finally found it. He turned to the doorway where Yunho had been standing the whole time, as he fixed the apron on himself. “I repeat, just watch. And oh, you may sit but it’s optional.” He had insisted on cooking, bragging about his knowledge about the said subject and saying he had learned from one of his previous boyfriends who happened to be a Culinary Arts student, the one he had dated for five long weeks.
For some reasons Jaejoong himself couldn’t figure out but he had long since admitted was odd, he always found himself singing a Hyori song whenever he was in deep concentration. He came to a decision that he couldn’t afford to lose his focus when it was his pride at stake. Knowing how Yunho had been underestimating his abilities, he wanted to prove him wrong. To put it shortly, he wanted to show off his hidden talent, if any. He had informed his brother not to worry and he knew what he was doing, thanks to his ex.
Yunho had to admit, as amusing as it was, watching Jaejoong moving around the kitchen was rather painful, especially when the raven had held a pan and a knife in one hand and some veggies in the other. Finally, assuming that Jaejoong had his fair share of satisfaction, he stood up and ventured to make lunch, whether the other liked it or not. He took the spot beside the stove where the other was towering over. “You seem to need a hand.”
A little shocked at Yunho’s sudden appearance, Jaejoong almost dropped the wooden spoon. “I told you to just watch. Go away.”
Yunho didn’t even fight back the smirk that shaped itself on his lips. At least Jaejoong didn’t insist that he was doing good enough to need his help because it was clearer than clear that he was nowhere close to it. “I’m afraid I’ve watched enough.”
“You haven’t!” Jaejoong sent his brother a glare of doom, not letting it show that he was thinking twice whether to accept the other’s help or reject it like he was doing now. If it wasn’t for his churning stomach, he wouldn’t have to blink before he turned the offer down.
“Sorry to say but it’s your turn to sit and watch.” Yunho tried to take the spoon from the brunette’s had but Jaejoong, being himself, didn’t let go. “If you dated that ex of yours just a week longer, you would have been a better cook.” He spoke, not letting go of the spoon.
“I’m sorry even the fanciest of his dishes didn’t keep me entertained.” Jaejoong’s glare was ever so present and unwavering. “Let go.” He ordered as he elbowed the taller guy.
“No, you let go.” Yunho’s tone was a whole lot calmer than the raven’s.
When his brother didn’t even budge, Jaejoong elbowed harder, further, and harder again. He continued his ministrations until he had forgotten about his so called concentration and even the presence of the spoon in his hand. “Ahh!” He screamed as some contents of the pot splashed over his chest. Luckily, he was wearing an apron, saving him from the possible burn and earth from his wrath. He had forgotten about the battle between the better cook he was engaged in with Yunho as he quickly pull the apron off him, only to find his shirt stained. “Aish!” He cursed before pulling his shirt off over his head in one swift move, revealing his fair skin. Jaejoong sighed as relief washed over him when he found his precious skin unharmed.
On the other hand, Yunho forgot for a second to stir the contents of the pot and gulped at the sight. “Go get changed.” He ordered in his signature flat tone, only it sounded somewhat desperate that moment.
Brushing off the eeriness that masked Yunho’s voice, he strutted towards the doorway but came into a halt. “Do you have a book with you?”
“Book?” Yunho asked as he came back to his senses, which he really hadn’t lost, or had he?
Jaejoong sighed. He hated repeating himself, especially to a particular Yunho who was supposed to be a smart ass that needed not to be told twice. “Did you bring any book here in the kitchen?”
“No?” The question was so out of the blue, leaving Yunho clueless.
“Good. Make sure lunch is ready when I come back.”
Yunho could only shake his head as he smiled to himself. Oh well, taking breaks weren’t that bad after all.
---
comments, negative or positive, will be very much appreciated.^u^
as for my other fics, i'm trying to write them atm~ wish me luuuck~^u^
i forgot to give credits to: strawberry shortcake - cuppy cake
i used a line from that song^^