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At the crack of dawn, a shrill alarm pierces the still bedroom. Perhaps he’s exaggerating, it’s not the crack of dawn, but it sure feels like it. He gropes around for his alarm before successfully pressing the snooze button. Repeat five more times before he rolls out of bed and into the bathroom.
Still in a stupor from his sleep, he begins to brush his teeth and wash his face. Then when he’s sure he’s awake enough, he attempts to put contacts in his eyes without poking an eyeball out from its socket. Glancing at his hair, he deems it good enough and leaves it alone. Slipping his favorite pair of earrings into his ears, he takes one more look at himself before returning to his room to get dressed.
His closet’s a mess from when he last ransacked it looking for his favorite t-shirt. He grabs the closest pair of jeans and snags a black shirt. He absently makes a mental note to reorganize the closet this weekend when he has time. Locating his belt, he decides that he should probably go shopping for a new one since this one is starting to fray right in the middle.
He throws his cell phone into his backpack, double checking that he has his wallet, and heads to the kitchen. Grabbing his lunch from the fridge, he throws that into his backpack as well and curses as he glances at the clock. Looks like there isn’t time for breakfast today either.
He mindlessly makes his way to the subway station, slipping earphones on; the routine so familiar he doesn’t pay much attention to it. Instead he’s lost in the latest album from one of his favorite bands.
He sleeps most of the way to the transfer point. He used to be more alert, trying to be more productive in the morning; but that lasted about a week after observing the majority of the passengers snore the morning away. Now he just enjoys the hour long commute with music flowing through his mind.
He just graduated from university and decided to work instead of continuing his studies. Since graduation, he’s job-hopped a couple times, this newest one he got through his brother-in-law. It’s not the best job in the world, but it could be worse. At least now, he has a steady income and time to just relax when he comes home. He tries not to think of how empty his apartment is at the end of a long day.
He remembers on his way back to the subway station that his sister is visiting with his niece tonight. He loves his niece, but kids in general never seemed to like him. He didn’t know what he was doing wrong; he even bought his niece bribes like toys and candy, but she didn’t seem to warm up to him. At least she no longer cries when he attempts to hold her, she just squirms now.
He smiles thinking about his niece’s ever expanding vocabulary. She speaks like a foreigner trying to wrap her tongue around the language, but it’s adorable when she gets something right. When she can’t pronounce something, she just huffs and pouts the most adorable pout ever.
His thoughts are interrupted but someone tapping him on the shoulder. He turns to see an ajusshi trying to talk to him. He takes out his earphone and asks the ajusshi to repeat what he just said.
“You’re really beautiful. I just wanted to tell you that.” He blinks, dumbfounded. He thought the ajusshi wanted to ask for directions or something.
“Thanks…” He runs to catch the subway train before it can leave the station.
He thinks about how creepy it was to get complimented by a fat and balding ajusshi the whole way back to his apartment.
An alarm cuts through the morning air, his daily routine begins again. He manages to scramble some eggs for himself this time before rushing out the door today.
He gets to the subways station like usual, but this time, he’s more aware of his surroundings, especially watchful for that creepy ajusshi that talked to him yesterday. With his luck, he does spot the ajusshi again. He ducks out of sight before the ajusshi can see him. Safely in the subway train, he peeks at the platform again to see the ajusshi rubbing some poor girl’s hand. He shudders and thinks it’s a good thing he was vigilant this morning.
He spends the rest of the ride daydreaming about the same incident, but replacing the ajusshi with his celebrity crush. Romantic love songs accompany him the rest of the day.
It’s been several days since the now-dubbed “ajusshi incident” and avoiding said ajusshi has become a part of his daily routine. Since the last sighting, he’s seen the ajusshi with several other girls and he wonders if he should report the ajusshi for harassment. However, the ajusshi seems harmless enough; just making people uncomfortable.
He wonders if the ajusshi mistook him for a girl that time since he hadn’t seen the ajusshi with other guys. Angry rock music blares from his earphones for anyone standing near enough to hear.
His routine is temporarily interrupted by the weekend when he can just laze around without a care in the world. That’s technically not true, but he doesn’t dwell on that fact. He shoves his laundry into the machine before seating himself in front of the computer with his breakfast to watch some variety shows.
When the laundry’s done and folded, he decides to head to the library for some free air conditioning. He spends the better half of the afternoon there, reading books that he would be too embarrassed to have on his record. He ends up borrowing a couple comics and one “grown-up” book to make himself seem more dignified.
He returns home to cook dinner and chats online with his friends that are scattered around the world. The one in Japan is complaining about how expensive the food is. The one in Virginia is complaining about how hot it is. The one that’s in Korea like him is lamenting his three failed attempted relationships. He has nothing to report except for the “ajusshi incident” which makes all of them laugh.
They promise to visit during the winter and go out to have a good time. The one with the failed relationships (“it doesn’t count as failure when it doesn’t even start!”) has already picked out a gay bar. He laughs and misses having his friends close to him.
He spends the evening watching sappy romantic movies and listening to heart-wrenching ballads.
The alarm signifies the start of his routine again. This time he only presses the snooze button twice before he rolls out of bed. He still doesn’t get enough time to fix himself a breakfast, spending too much time in front of the mirror changing outfits. Autumn is a lovely season, but it’s so difficult to dress for.
The subway is much busier now, since all the students are joining the daily hustle of getting from home to school/work. He can’t help but look at these students and feel old. It wasn’t too long ago that he was one of them, he reasons, and then he remembers that it’s been four years since he’s donned a school uniform.
He flashes a wry smile and listens to the boy bands from his school days.
He misses his regular ride today, getting off work later than usual to finish something he was sure he did days ago. He doesn’t mind since there’s another one in half an hour and he has his music to keep him company. He’s listening to something foreign today, wanting something to hum to, but not distract from his work.
He spots someone dancing in the corner of his eye. That’s a bit unusual, to be dancing in a public place. He takes out his earphones and is surprised that he doesn’t hear any music. Replacing his earphones, he looks more carefully at the figure dancing.
The dancer looks to be about his age, but possessing a more muscular frame. He moves with a power and fluidity that could be described as feline. The movement from his body is so mesmerizing that he couldn’t look away.
He doesn’t even notice the train coming into the station until the dancer stops to gather his things. He gets on the same train, stealing glances at the dancer the whole way back. He smiles to himself and finds some dance music to tap his toes to.
The next couple of days he breaks his routine, taking the later subway home in hopes of seeing the dancer again. No such luck. Eventually he returns to his routine again, like nothing happened. For days he can’t decide what he wants to listen to and settles for the white noise of the daily commute.
It’s raining heavily one afternoon when he’s taking the subway. He hates it when it rains. He has nothing against rain, in fact he loves walking in the rain sometimes. It’s the way the subway smells that he hates. The crowded trains are humid and smell like mold; it’s suffocating to be the trains for the hour long commute when it rains.
Someone sits down next to him and he’s glad that this person isn’t damp from the rain. He notices his seatmate doesn’t smell like the rain either. Looking over, his eyes widen in shock, it’s the dancer he saw last time. He quickly averts his eyes before the dancer can catch him staring.
“I like your boots.” He looks over, not sure if the comment was directed at him. Glancing down at his ankle boots he shrugs and thanks the dancer. He doesn’t know what to do after that and an awkward silence ensues.
Not wanting the silence to continue he says the first brilliant thing that comes to mind. “So why aren’t you wet?” He can’t believe that just came out of his mouth. “I mean…it’s been raining, uh, pretty hard for the past couple of hours. And everyone smells like feet. Not that I’m smelling you or that you do smell like feet, but you know…”
He shuts up when the dancer starts to chuckle. “I’m glad I don’t smell like feet and you,” the dancer leans closer to him and takes a sniff “you don’t either, so no worries.”
He thought he was going to die from embarrassment. He’s sure his face is red from the close proximity. He pretends to be interested in reading the ads in the train. He doesn’t listen to music that day, but can hear the thumping of his heart in rhythm to the tapping of the dancer’s fingertips.
The next morning he’s pleasantly surprised to see the dancer again. The dancer smiles in recognition and signals the seat next to him. He sits down and looks at the laptop propped on the dancer’s legs curiously. It looks as though the dancer is watching some ancient Chinese historical movie.
“Do you want to watch with me? I’m watching it dubbed though, reading on the train makes my eyes hurt.” He declines politely and plugs in his earphones. He nods off the rest of the ride without turning his music on. A smile makes its way onto his lips without him noticing.
It’s not until they meet for the third time that they exchange names. It seems as if they were going about it backwards, but that suited Jaejoong just fine. This time they have an actual conversation about movies, jobs, and studying.
He’s explaining to Yunho how he’s already moved onto his third job since graduation. Yunho looks surprised at his job hopping, but understands the reasons behind it. Jaejoong’s not surprised to hear that Yunho’s a dance instructor, but has a couple of side jobs to support his dance salary. They share several anecdotes of indecisive clients, annoying coworkers, and strange bosses.
Before either of them notice, the hour long commute is over and they go their separate ways. Neither makes plans to meet up with the other, but both are anticipating the next serendipitous meeting.
The weekend arrives and he’s strangely disappointed that he’s breaking routine again. He sits in front of his computer chatting with his friends, making more solid plans for when they are visiting. The one in Japan has already compiled a list of all the foods and restaurants he wants to eat and dine in when he gets back. The one in Virginia is planning on shopping trips they can indulge themselves in. The one down south is still pushing for bar excursions.
He promises that they’ll somehow do everything together and reminds them to take care of themselves so that they can fully play when they visit him. He even promises to make at least one home-cooked meal for them when they arrive. They thank their “umma” and start counting down the days until they can see Jaejoong in person.
He smiles in anticipation of their arrival. He spends the rest of the day singing and dancing to catchy dance songs and thinks fleetingly of how much better Yunho was at dancing than he is.
His chance encounters with Yunho become more frequent in the coming weeks, but never quite settling into a routine. There were mornings where he wouldn’t spot the man upon getting on the train, but would see Yunho getting on at another stop. Those mornings, they would exchange greetings and chat, if Jaejoong was awake, or exchange goodbyes just as Jaejoong woke up in time for his stop. There were other mornings where he wouldn’t see Yunho at all, those days he maintained his routine of plugging in his earphones and entering his world of music for the next hour.
Some days he would see Yunho on his way back from work. Those days he would secretly watch Yunho dance on the platform for a few moments before announcing his presence. Whenever he did, Yunho would flash him a bright smile and try to get Jaejoong to join him.
“But I can’t dance!”
“Sure you can, or did you mean you won’t dance without a partner? If that’s the case, I’m able and willing to play the part.” Yunho lifts his eyebrow suggestively before bursting out into laughter at Jaejoong’s horrified expression. “Your face is doing wonders for my self-esteem. All right, not today, but one day I’ll get you to dance with me!”
Somewhere along the line, they cross the line between commuting acquaintances and tentative friends. Jaejoong would often wonder what Yunho was doing, but he catch himself thinking of the other and blush. He wished he could contact Yunho outside of the chance meeting they had while commuting.
He didn’t mention Yunho to his friends spread across globe either. He didn’t think it was worth mentioning at first, then it was awkward to start talking about someone after getting to know them for weeks. At least that’s what he told himself, but he knew in the end that he just wanted to keep Yunho to himself a little longer before sharing with other people.
Later he learns that Yunho’s sporadic schedule was due to apartment hunting. Now that Yunho’s moved into one, his schedule would be more routine. Jaejoong’s secretly thrilled that Yunho new apartment is only a twenty minute walk away, meaning he’ll have to get on the subway train at the station before Jaejoong does, that way Jaejoong has someone saving him a seat on the train every day; at least that’s the reason he tells his rapidly beating heart.
He enthusiastically gets on the subway train come Monday morning, but doesn’t spot the familiar grinning face anywhere. Shrugging off his disappointment, Jaejoong puts in his earphones and listens to some upbeat music to lift his spirits.
Tuesday isn’t much different from Monday and the familiar face is nowhere in sight again. He sits down and listens to all of his old favorites, distracting himself with singing along under his breath.
The next day he’s surprised to see Yunho again. The man looks sickly pale and has a mask covering his nose and mouth. Yunho gives him a weak wave and moves his backpack from the seat next to him.
“I don’t know, what if I get whatever you have?” Jaejoong teases as he sits down anyway.
Yunho takes off his mask to speak properly. “I’m completely fine. My paranoid neighbor just thinks I’m still contagious and won’t let me go anywhere without the mask on.”
“So what’d you have?”
“Flu. Not swine, not avian, just the normal kind. Sweated it out for two days and now I’m fine.”
“I doubt it; flu usually takes a week for me to feel normal again. So I’ll be nice and lend you a shoulder to sleep on today.”
“How could I ever refuse an offer like that?” Yunho laughs.
“Your head doesn’t look that big, it can’t be too heavy.” He shrugs and smiles at Yunho’s answering pout.
“For that you have to lend me your shoulder the rest of the week.”
“Fine, fine, princess.” Jaejoong feels him head-butt his shoulder before attempting to rest it there.
“You’re too short! My neck hurts like this.” He pulls Jaejoong’s head to his shoulder and rests his own head on top of Jaejoong’s. “That’s much better. And now you owe me for lending you my shoulder.”
“I’m letting you use my head! I think that more than compensates for this!” He answers in mock-anger, but a telling smile is making its way to his lips.
They spend the rest of the ride in a comfortable silence, eyes averted, faces flushed, shy smiles, listening to each other breathe.
The next day is spent much like the previous day, but with less talking and more sleeping. Jaejoong thinks he wouldn’t mind this being part of his morning routine and adjusts his position closer to the warmth of Yunho’s body.
Yunho’s flu-fatigued mind registers the shuffling and he places an arm around Jaejoong as he gets closer. He falls asleep smelling Jaejoong’s hair and listening to him hum something familiar.
He wakes up to Jaejoong’s shaking and adorable pout. “Wake up or you’ll miss the stop!”
Yunho gets up quickly and tugs Jaejoong out of the train before the doors snap shut. He lets out a smile, “Thanks for waking me up for my stop. I have to run now, see you later.” Hurriedly, he plants a kiss on the crown of Jaejoong’s head and rushes past him up the stairs.
Jaejoong absently touches the place where Yunho kissed him. Smiling, he spends the rest of the day singing sugary love songs.
He gets up before his alarm even rings. He shuts it off and prepares for the day ahead. He barely catches the subway train on time even though he woke up earlier than usual, devoting a far longer time in front of the closet and mirror.
He smiles at the sight that greets him when he gets on. Yunho’s already asleep with his mouth wide open. Jaejoong stifles a laugh and seats himself next to the slumbering male. Making good on his promise, he adjusts Yunho’s head onto his and puts in his earphones.
He wakes up to unfamiliar music running through his mind. Glancing down, he sees that he’s not listening to his own player. His sleep-addled brain is still trying to figure out whose player he has when he feels fingers wrap around his pressing the pause button.
“Your player ran out of batteries. I’m lending you mine since you’re always listening to music.” Yunho explains after catching the questioning look on Jaejoong’s face.
“But what about you? I can live one day without mine. It’s ok.” He unplugs his earphones and attempts to return the player to its owner.
“No, no, it’s fine.” Yunho plugs Jaejoong’s earphones back into his player.
“But—”
“We’ll compromise.” With that, Yunho brushes Jaejoong’s cheek and removes an earphone from him and places it in his own ear.
Neither of them really remembers what they were listening to that morning; the pounding of their hearts overpowering the earphones and the warmth of cheeks distracting them from the melodies.
It’s not until he’s returning home that he realizes that he still has Yunho’s player in his possession. He makes a mental note to get Yunho some coffee as a thank you gift. As he scrolls through Yunho’s playlists, he spots one that has his name attached to it. Curious, he decides to scroll through “his” playlist.
The first couple of songs are beautifully composed piano pieces. The next several are all sappy love songs that Jaejoong won’t admit he likes. Following those are romantic ballads that speak of yearning and wanting. After that are some sexy dance beats he could picture Yunho dancing to. The rest of the list is comprised of songs he enjoys singing when no one’s listening.
He’s surprised that Yunho knows his favorites so well. He wonders if the build-up to his favorites reflects Yunho’s feelings for him; he wonders, he hopes, but he doesn’t expect. By the time he gets home, he’s made up his mind.
His weekend started off routine enough, chatting with his friends scattered all over the globe, except this time he’s the one doing most of the talking. He spills the details of his many encounters with Yunho and asks for their opinions. The one in Japan advises him to just be honest and take the initiative for once. The one in Virginia encourages him to do something impractical but totally romantic. The one down south is just excited for him and wants to meet Yunho (and Yunho’s hot (?) friends). In the end, they all wish him luck on his uneventful-until-now (love) life.
He spends the better half of Saturday looking for a piano. When he’s unable to locate one, he pulls his best pair of puppy-eyes on the instrument salesman to let him play on the store’s display piano. His puppy-eyes are successful and he gains a couple of hours to play until customers come in. He practices until he’s satisfied then asks the salesman if he could come again the next day to record a bit.
The salesman, having seen a boost in customers, happily agrees and even offers him the piano any time he wants to just tinker on it. Having his beliefs reaffirmed of the goodness of people’s hearts, Jaejoong thanks the salesman and treats himself to some bulgogi before going home.
Sunday finds Jaejoong once again in the music store hard at work on the piano. He couldn’t decide which song to record so he decided to record several and choose the best one when he got back home. He works hard playing and singing for the rest of the morning, unmindful of the gathered fangirls watching and taking pictures of him through the windows. The salesman was nice enough to prevent them from disrupting his recording with threats of charging them an entry fee.
When he finally is satisfied with his recordings, he’s surprised with the applause he garners. He smiles sheepishly and ducks out of the store feeling very violated as his now-fangirls shove their numbers in his pockets.
While compiling a new playlist in Yunho’s player for him, he wonders if Yunho will like his songs. More importantly, he wonders if Yunho even understands Japanese. He had decided to sing some of the songs in Japanese since he liked the lyrics and melodies, but didn’t know if Yunho would understand what he was singing to him. He included a Korean track just in case, but that was problematic in itself.
Jaejoong had chosen “Flower Lady”, because it was romantic, but there was no way he could sing to a lady and think of Yunho at the same time. Finding another word to replace “lady” was also more difficult than he thought. Originally he thought of the male equivalent to lady would do, but “gentleman” was way too long and the Korean way was awkward. Other endearments such as “baby” or “honey” seemed presumptuous to use. He finally settled for just using Yunho’s name he ran into other problems. Singing only Yunho’s name made him miss a syllable, making it Jung Yunho seemed impersonal. He decided on keeping the “my” before “lady”, even if singing “my Yunho” made him blush like no other.
The other songs he recorded in Japanese were “Yakusoku” and “Shine”. “Yakusoku” had a special place in his heart since the lyrics reflected some of his relationship(?) with Yunho already. He especially liked the line about sharing earphones and sharing the same rhythm. “Shine” was simply everything he wanted to tell Yunho. It didn’t even have to be a strictly romantic relationship, but Yunho was an irreplaceable presence for him.
Looking at the three songs on the playlist, Jaejoong thinks they look a bit lonely and can use a bit of company. He adds some dance tracks that he thinks Yunho will enjoy dancing to (and he’ll enjoy watching Yunho dance to), burying his work at the bottom to be lost in the shuffle. He wonders how long it will take Yunho to uncover his dedications to him.
Monday morning, he is rushing down to the station with a thermos tucked under his arm and Yunho’s player in his pocket. He was originally planning on making coffee, but saw that he only had expired coffee grinds in his cabinets. He settled with tea, which was a healthier choice in his opinion.
Climbing aboard, he finds Yunho is his usual seat. He sits down next to him immediately and pulls out his player. “I really liked my playlist, even though I was surprised to find that I had one in your player.”
Yunho’s cheeks burn scarlet before he stutters garbled syllables. He clears his throat to try again when a cup of tea is offered to his face. “This will help with the frog in your throat. It’s also a thank you for lending me your player the whole weekend.” Smiling his thanks, Yunho takes a sip of the hot liquid.
“Uhm…” Yunho starts nervously, “I’m glad you liked the playlist? I mean, that’s just the stuff I’ve heard you play before on yours and I liked as well…and maybe some stuff that I thought you’d like…and…”
“And I made a list for you too. Take a look or sit and listen when you have time. This is so old-school, making mixed tapes…well, mixed playlists, for each other.” Jaejoong laughs a bit to cover his nervousness as well. “Now lend me your shoulder, I stayed up too late last night making your playlist.” He quickly ducks his head so Yunho won’t see his embarrassment.
Yunho offers one earphone to Jaejoong before plugging it into his player to explore Jaejoong’s playlist for him. Unsurprisingly, the first song that comes on is a dance song. Taking a quick peek at the songs following, they all seem to be upbeat dance tracks. Yunho couldn’t think of a better way to start the morning, his favorite beats in his ear, a cup of tea in his hands, and Jaejoong’s head resting on his shoulder.
Jaejoong isn’t sure what he should expect the following morning. Would Yunho have gotten through all of the songs already? How many did he put on there anyway? Will he realize that Jaejoong was the one singing three of the songs? Would he understand them? Would he respond in kind? Will he completely ignore it? Jaejoong didn’t know which question scared him the most.
When he gets on the train, he sees Yunho wave at him. “How many songs did you put on this thing? I’ve barely gotten through half!”
Sighing, from relief or disappointment Jaejoong hasn’t decided, “Well, do you at least like it?”
“So far so good! There were so many good dance songs that I want to choreograph to. For someone that doesn’t dance, you sure have good taste!”
“You’re still only on the dance tracks? I thought I put in others too.”
“I got to some of the others too. The feel-good pop songs and some of the slower ballads. You’re just a big softie aren’t you?”
“Oh shut up, and finish the playlist.” With a final huff, Jaejoong feigns anger and turns away.
Yunho chuckles at Jaejoong’s cute pout and pats his head, discreetly running his fingers through the silky tresses. “Ah, our Jaejoongie is so cute.”
“Jaejoong-ah, could you do me a favor? Please, please, please?” greets him before he even sits down the next day.
“Depends entirely on what it is, and what the bribe for doing it is.”
“I’m not going to be in my apartment Saturday, but I’m supposed to be receiving a package then. Could I tell them to drop it off at your place instead? Unless you have plans, I guess I could ask my neighbor, but she’s scary before two in the afternoon on a good day.”
“And my bribe for this is?” prompted Jaejoong.
“My gratitude?” Yunho attempts the innocent puppy-eyes.
“No go. And stop that, it makes you look like you’re wired on illegal substances.”
“How about this one?” Yunho attempts the pathetic, bedraggled kitten.
“Nope, even worse.”
“Aish! Well is there something you want that I can give you?”
He wants to say four hours for a date during the weekend, but can’t quite bring himself to say it out loud, “I’ll tell you when I think of something,” comes out instead.
“Great! So give me your address so I can redirect the shipping company.” Yunho whips out his phone, taking down Jaejoong’s address. Jaejoong thinks it’s strange that Yunho is asking for his address before asking for his phone number, but doesn’t ponder too much about it. Their relationship has been a bit backwards anyway.
They spend the rest of the ride discussing Jaejoong’s future repayment and Yunho’s dance rehearsal making him unavailable all weekend. Jaejoong forgets to ask about his playlist before Yunho’s run off to work again.
Following that exchange, Yunho gets inexplicably busy and Jaejoong doesn’t see him for days. It feels a bit lonely taking the trains alone in the morning with only his music accompanying him. He wonders when music started to become an inadequate companion to his morning commute. He couldn’t decide what he wanted to listen to, skipping tracks every several seconds.
A part of him wonders if this was Yunho’s answer to his yet-to-be-asked questions. Maybe Yunho just needed someone to help him adjust to the neighborhood and now that he’s suckered Jaejoong into helping him, there’s no need to continue seeing Jaejoong at all. Jaejoong wonders where this horribly cynical side of him came from and why it chooses now to rear its ugly head.
Another part of him remains unflaggingly optimistic. Perhaps Yunho’s just been swamped with his three jobs (reasonable) and hasn’t had the time to even listen to his playlist, let alone think about what it’s supposed to mean. He tells himself that must be the reason, even as he’s not so convinced of it.
In his distraction, he nearly runs into the ajusshi chasing beautiful “women”. He pretends to look at his watch as he passes said ajusshi and berates himself for not routinely looking out for perverts. He doesn’t even realize how much he’s been ignoring his routine due to Yunho’s appearance in his life. He doesn’t know whether or not this deviation is a good thing or not.
His shuffle lands on “Mirotic” and he thinks of Yunho moving to the beat. Without a doubt, this was the most fitting song for Yunho to dance to, with his charm and good looks. He ends up listening to the track on repeat for the rest of the day.
He wakes up to the sound of the doorbell Saturday morning. Cursing whoever is on the other side, he slaps his glasses on to answer the door. Someone who’s had too much sugar in the morning greets him on the other side and thrusts a package in his hands. The deliveryman’s talking way too fast for his brain, so he nods and busies himself with signing off the package. After an extended exchange of pleasantries (the deliveryman was really a talker), he finally closes the door.
Yawning while stretching, he chokes when he hears a shrill ring. Placing a hand on his chest to calm himself down, he looks over to the innocent package sitting on the table. It continues to ring while Jaejoong looks blankly at the package. It wasn’t until the package started to vibrate with the ringtone that he decides he should answer the phone.
He opens the box and answers the phone before the caller can hang up. “Yeoboseyo?”
“Jaejoong-ah! I was wondering when you would answer the phone.”
“Y-Yunho? Wait, what? I thought you were busy, that’s why you needed me to wait for this package for you. Why are you calling me now?”
“Because I didn’t have your phone number. I sent you my phone, if you’re so kind as to program your number in for me that would be great.”
“Uh…sure?”
“Great. Now, listen. There will be another deliver of an outfit later. Can you wear it and meet me later tonight? I’ll send directions later, so you don’t need to worry about finding it. Wait for the outfit ok? I gotta go now. I’ll see you later Jaejoongie.”
“Wait, Yunho! What’s going on?”
“You’ll see! I picked out the clothes myself, so wear it ok? I’ll send you the details for the time and place to meet up later.”
“But—” a dial tone cuts him off before he can complete the thought.
Jaejoong wrinkles his forehead in confusion and looks at the phone in his hand incredulously. “What exactly is going on?”
More packages arrive to Jaejoong’s apartment the rest of the day. Following the phone, the next package to arrive was the outfit Yunho had supposedly chosen for Jaejoong. He eyes the package cautiously before opening the box.
Inside are a pair of blue jeans, a v-neck white tank top, and a black vest. The ensemble looks simple but stylish and Jaejoong wonders what occasion he’s wearing it to. At least he knows that it’s not anything too formal where he might embarrass himself.
The next package consists of chains, earrings, and rings. He wonders if he’s supposed to wear all of the jewelry in addition to the clothes. The jewelry doesn’t look new, but they aren’t worn out either. Jaejoong wonders if they’re Yunho’s personal accessories and takes pleasure from looking through them.
Another package arrives as Jaejoong’s informing his friends about the strange turn of events in his relationship with Yunho. He returns with an invitation and directions to a nearby club. His friends also aren’t sure what to make of the situation. The one in Japan told him to call Yunho and ask directly (“there’s no point in sitting around entertaining weird suggestions from the other two”). The one in Virginia told him to just follow directions and see where it leads him (“just go with the flow, see where it takes you”). The one down south is envious and wants to join him (“it’s a popular club, how can you not know of it?!”).
Looking at the time indicated on the invitation, Jaejoong sees he barely has two hours to get ready for whatever this is. His friends wish him a fun night and badger him into promising to give them details tomorrow. He says his goodbyes exasperatedly and starts his shower.
He arrives at the club in time to see a long line of people waiting in front. He almost feels guilty walking past all of them, handing his invitation to the bouncer. The bouncer eyes him appreciatively before stamping the back of his hand and letting him into the club.
His excitement overcomes his confusion as he steps into the dimly lit club in his boots. A couple of people brush past him and he almost stumbles in the dark. He catches himself from falling and finds himself in front of the man who delivered Yunho’s phone to him.
“Oh, it’s you! You must be Yunho’s friend then, if he trusts you with his phone.”
“Yep. Name’s Donghae. Just enjoy yourself, Yunho will be out shortly.”
Unsure of what to do, Jaejoong sits down at the table and orders a drink. He tries to pump Donghae for more information, but Yunho’s friend is good at evading his questions. He finally gives up after several drinks and watches the people before him dance.
“Why don’t you dance? I’m sure it’s boring if you just sit here the whole time.” Donghae attempts to drag Jaejoong with him.
Jaejoong lets himself be dragged, reciting “go with the flow” and dances self-consciously with Donghae and a couple of girls. He figures he’s not doing so badly, as there seem to be people willing to dance with him. He smiles to himself and wishes Yunho was here to dance with him.
Immediately, as if summoned, “Mirotic” plays from the speakers and the dance floor clears out around Jaejoong. Standing in front of him is Yunho dressed to kill with a smirk gracing his lips. Jaejoong stand captivated at the sight of Yunho in a pair of gray jeans, a black tank top, black jacket, and gloves. Then Yunho begins to dance.
Jaejoong is mesmerized by the power and fluidity of Yunho’s body. The flashes of collarbone and shoulder from the slipping jacket tantalize Jaejoong’s fingertips. The knowing eyes and casual smirk make Jaejoong blush, but he’s unable to turn away.
Yunho holds out his gloved hand to Jaejoong, signaling the other man to join him. Jaejoong hesitates, but Donghae pushes him from behind, causing him to stumble towards Yunho’s waiting arms. Yunho catches Jaejoong and whispers in his ear “neoreul gajyeosseo”.
Surprised, Jaejoong looks up at Yunho. Other people return to the dance floor as Yunho’s special performance seemed to be over. “I told you I’d get you to dance with me one day,” says Yunho as he guides Jaejoong’s uncooperative hips in front of him.
Jaejoong’s still a bit dumbstruck, but understands enough to move with Yunho to the beat of the song. “So this whole elaborate set-up was just to get me to dance with you? That’s a bit much don’t you think?”
“No. That was part of it, but not all of it. I must say though, you look extremely hot in those clothes. I’m sorry I forgot to send you shoes, but you seem to have that covered just fine.” Yunho trails a hand from Jaejoong’s shoulder to his hips.
“My boots were the reason you talked to me in the first place. I admit I like your taste.” Jaejoong turns around in Yunho’s hold to hide his ever-growing blush.
“I like my taste too, even more when you’re wearing it.” Yunho turns Jaejoong around to face him and rolls his body against Jaejoong’s stiffened form. “I knew you’d look good in my accessories too. In fact, you have some of my favorite earrings on.”
Jaejoong struggles to move on beat again, trying to wrap his mind around Yunho’s body touching his. After gathering his wits, he realizes why Yunho sent him his accessories to choose from instead of letting him wear his own. Looking Yunho straight in the eye he coos “I’ve got you under my skin.” Using his new-found daring, he leans forwards and captures Yunho’s lips.
Yunho responds without hesitation, cradling Jaejoong’s head in his palm. His other hand snakes down to Jaejoong’s hips and gives a squeeze. They break the kiss, mindful of the people dancing around them. They dance through a few more songs before Yunho says “Let’s go after a few more minutes. I think I’ve had enough of other people looking at you and glaring at me.”
Jaejoong chuckles and agrees with Yunho. They hail a cab and go to Jaejoong’s place since some of Yunho’s belongings are still there. It’s already past two o’clock in the morning when they arrive, so Jaejoong offers Yunho the couch for the night.
After talking through Jaejoong’s adorable way of confession and Yunho’s need for mystery, they shower and settle in for the night. Jaejoong blushes when he hands Yunho a change of clothes from his messy closet (“I have no new underwear, but these are clean!”), and Yunho chuckles.
Yunho comes out of the shower smelling like Jaejoong only to see Jaejoong already dozing in his bed. He smiles and tucks Jaejoong in properly and kisses the crown of his head. He returns to the couch in the living room with blankets and turns in for the night with a contented smile gracing his lips.
Yunho wakes up to the smell of breakfast and Jaejoong humming softly in the kitchen. The scene is so domestic he can’t help but smile at his good fortune. Yunho begins to sing the opening lines to “Tea for Two” to Jaejoong.
Jaejoong jumps upon hearing another voice in the kitchen, but recovers his wits before turning around to greet Yunho. “Good morning. I didn’t know what you liked, so I made a bit of everything.”
Yunho smiles and continues singing to Jaejoong, coming behind him to hug his waist like the song directed. “Suki da yo" and that’s all Jaejoong needs to hear. He kisses Yunho and the rest of the song is forgotten, but still playing in their hearts.