Chapter Text
“Strip.”
Jonghyun almost chokes on his ramen. Changhyun seems completely serious. He’s looking at Jonghyun, unblinking.
Poverty must have messed with Changhyun’s head. But a month of ramen for all three meals of the day, Jonghyun’s just about had it. So he stands up and holds the hem of his sweater.
He’s pulling it up to the middle of his bony torso when Changhyun speaks.
“What are you doing?”
“Stripping. Like you said.”
“Idiot. I don’t mean now. I mean, we can strip for money. You know. To pay rent. We’re two months late on rent remember?”
How can he forget?
Yesterday when he’s on his way up the stairs to his apartment, carrying a carton box of ramen – they have to buy in bulk to save – he was stopped by his landlord Mr. Han for the nth time this month. Gyujin wringed his hands together, like he always did, and said, “You know if you don’t pay then I can’t let you live here anymore.”
Gyujin is really nice, and he likes them and they also like him. But Gyujin can’t let someone live without rent while there are people out there who need this apartment just as much and have money to pay.
“I understand sir,” Jonghyun said, his heart heavy. He could only nod and look down when Mr. Han said “OK” and gave him two supportive pats on the shoulder in place of goodbye. He knew that Changhyun and he will need to figure out a way soon. He knows.
But strip?
“How do we strip?”
“You take off your clothes. You do that every day before you take a shower and before you change.”
“But we have to take our clothes off in a different way.”
“We’re performance art majors, remember? So don’t worry about not knowing how to strip for money. Also we’re art majors that’s why we’re stripping for money.”
When you say it that way, it’s kind of sad.
Actually it’s very sad.
“Shit Jonghyun,” Changhyun says, frantically searching around for tissue, but finds none because they’ve run out of those a long time ago.
“Nope thank you I don’t want to strip in front of a lot of people that I don’t know,” Jonghyun says as he stands up. Then he washes his bowl and puts on his coat.
“Another restaurant? We failed at all the restaurants we went to!” Changhyun says.
Jonghyun sighs and continues towards the door. Changhyun calls after him, “Good luck this time anyway!”
***
Changhyun’s parents and his parents did try to “talk some sense into them.”
Changhyun’s parents wanted Changhyun to study pre-law. And Jonghyun’s parents wanted Jonghyun to go into accounting. Their parents would gladly pay all the expenses, even though it’s three times the estimated room and board Changhyun and Jonghyun have to pay if they accept the 100 per cent tuition scholarship for the dance program at the school they’re currently going to.
But Changhyun and Jonghyun insisted. There was no love in law and accounting. Instead, they love the limelight, and they’re confident that they will be able to support themselves, and have money to save even, if they follow their dreams.
It’s been half a year since they left home (likely for good). And look where they are now.
“Jonghyun,” Mr. Go says from behind the counter of the coffee shop, knitting his fingers together and looking really guilty. “We have decided that your skills would better be used somewhere else.”
This is actually the second time that Mr. Go decided so. The first time Mr. Go rejected him was a month ago, but Jonghyun couldn’t give up. Mr. Go’s coffee shop is a few steps away from where he lives. He passes it every day on his way to school. Were he to work here it would be the best he could ever wish for. And he really needs to work. This time around Jonghyun had even added some tears to the application.
“What do you mean I’m not qualified to wait tables?” he blurts out.
That sounded more offensive than it did in his head, but Jonghyun doesn’t care anymore.
Mr. Go is silent and thoughtful. Just then, this kid walks in from the front door.
“Hello Mr. Go. Sorry I’m late. My dog didn’t let me go,” he says with this blinding smile.
“No worries Dongyeol,” Mr. Go says and smiles too.
Jonghyun watches as the smiling kid goes through the staff-only door and comes out wearing the coffee shop’s uniform about five minutes later.
“What kind of work ethic is this?” he asks.
“You see. One of the things that I really want for this establishment is that all our customers feel happy when they are here. Dongyeol has this bright smile that you don’t and his smile gives people hope and yeah, just, just look at him,” Mr. Go says, gesturing towards Dongyeol who’s greeting a customer. It’s communicable. The dumb smile. Now she’s smiling too.
“So?” Changhyun greets him when he gets home.
Jonghyun throws himself on his bed and hides his face into his pillow. He wants to cry.
He hears Changhyun clicking shut his computer and sitting down on his bed and feels Changhyun’s hand patting the back of his head.
“I’ve considered many options.”
“Go on.”
“How about you get a sugar daddy?”
Jonghyun is silent.
“Think about it. You don’t really work. It’s just, you pretend to love someone and get money for it. And if you agree with each other from the beginning that you’re not going to do sex then you won’t do sex.”
It’s part desperation part anger at Mr. Go and that Dongyeol kid. “Sure. How do I start?” he asks.
***
Yoo Changhyun is a man of his words. And a fast learner. Within a week he has started bringing home one and five dollar notes and the occasional tens.
Most highly requested is the wandering vaquero. Because women and men both like the idea of a visitor, who has travelled a lot of land, who tells you stories of things you have never seen before, and who's able to make you feel like you have never felt before. He’s mysterious and there are a lot of things about him that you don’t know. And he’s gonna leave at just the right time so you're never going to be bored.
“This is awesome,” Gyujin says. He looks like he’s about to cry. He counts the money and hugs each of them. Changhyun and Jonghyun can’t help but smile with him.
“Did you guys find jobs?” Gyujin asks.
“Yeah. Kind of,” Changhyun says, “We have to go now,” then he drags Jonghyun away by the elbow so that Gyujin can’t ask the inevitable question, “What job?”
It’s Saturday morning and they have no activities for the rest of the weekend, well, except Changhyun stripping for the nights. So because Changhyun still has a bit of money left after paying the rent of the last two months, to make up for the ramen, he decides to splurge at Mr. Go’s coffee shop.
“Hello my name is Dongyeol what can I get you today?” Dongyeol says to a customer at the table right next to theirs.
Jonghyun hushes to Changhyun, “You see him? If I were in high school my smile would beat his. Dead. But now I have to worry about food and shelter. You can’t expect me to smile like that anymore.”
The customer looks sad. It’s a man in his 30s. Judging by his clothes and the watch on his wrist, he doesn’t look like he has to worry about food and shelter. But Dongyeol’s smile does not have any effect on him. Jonghyun immediately feels sad too. Something really bad must have happened to the guy. Why wouldn’t he smile at Dongyeol? Wait. Is Jonghyun admitting that Dongyeol’s smile has healing quality?
The man suddenly looks up and his eyes meet Jonghyun’s. Jonghyun immediately turns away.
Opposite of him, Changhyun is focused on the screen of his phone. In the past week, Jonghyun made a profile on the best sugar dating site available according to Changhyun. They hired Bang Minsoo the literature major to write it and Lee Sungjun the photography major to take photos of Jonghyun that show how he’s available for business but also for fun too, (actually what’s the word for hiring but without a promise of payment? Anyway, they had to hire professionals because Changhyun did not want to go wrong for even one step.) Changhyun has assumed the responsibility of Jonghyun’s manager, or pimp, and has been fielding messages of suitors, actually deleting all of them. It made Jonghyun feel like he's sitting on fire.
“Do I have more messages?”
“Yeah. happystitch0605 listed all the things he would do for you in the first message.”
“That’s good isn’t it?”
“No,” Changhyun says with an exasperated sigh. “That’s not a good sign. All these room and board and tuition and transportation are pretty much implied. Real sugar daddies would first get to know you as a person! Because first and foremost it’s a romantic arrangement.”
“Or he’s a nice guy and he’s just desperate!”
“Rich guys have people flocking to them. They’re never desperate!”
“Then why didn’t you like expresso2710? He’s getting to know me as a person!”
“Yeah but he looks photoshopped. Nobody’s that good looking.”
Jonghyun sighs.
“Just. Just let me ok?” Changhyun says, looking stressed out. “I need to make sure that you’re safe because this is my idea after all. What would I say to people if something happens to you? Be patient and we’ll find you a sugar daddy that you deserve.”
Jonghyun pouts but nods anyway. Changhyun suddenly sits straight up and looks around.
“Hold on, that Dongyeol kid didn’t go to our table. Did you just say he is upsetting you?” he says then stands up. Jonghyun flinches. Dongyeol made Changhyun stand up. Something is about to go down.
Jonghyun’s eyes meet those of the man from the other table again. He chucks it off as accidental and looks out the window. But as soon as Changhyun leaves the table, the man brings his mug over and sits down in Changhyun’s chair.
“I heard you’re looking for a sugar daddy,” he says.
***
Lee Chanhee is wearing a grey tweed blazer, olive pants and – this is something Jonghyun hasn’t seen on anyone except his professors – a sweater vest. He nervously turns his empty mug of coffee in its plate with his thumb and index finger on its handle. Then he takes a deep breath and looks up after a long pause.
“So technically it’s not a normal sugar arrangement of sorts. I’ll pay you. But we’re not in a relationship. We just pretend to be. And only until Sunyoung is so jealous that she comes back to me,” he says.
Jonghyun hasn’t spoken a word. He is scared. But this man looks like a nice person. Based on his clothes. Jonghyun thinks.
“This is the first time I do something like this. I couldn’t ask a friend because then everyone would know. I need someone nobody knows. I’ve been listening to your conversation with your friend there and I wonder if you would like to help me. I’m sorry if you don’t. I’ll stop asking now if you don’t want to,” he says in one breath.
He seems really nervous with the slight frown on his face. That makes him believable. Right?
“No,” Jonghyun says. “No no no no no. I just need to think…So I don’t have to have sex?”
Chanhee shakes his head. “No.”
“Well this is too good.”
“You’re doing me great help.”
“I still need to think,” Jonghyun says. He has to talk to his manager. “Can I call you later?”
“Sure,” Chanhee says. “Like in a day?”
“Yeah,” Jonghyun says.
Changhyun is standing at the corner of the room, pointing towards Chanhee’s back with wide eyes, mouthing, “Who?”. Jonghyun has to focus on the man in front of him.
Done exchanging numbers, Chanhee stands up. “I hope you’ll agree,” he says, then brings his mug back to his table then leaves the shop. He’s one foot out the door when Changhyun lands into his seat opposite of Jonghyun.
“Who’s that?” he asks.
“My sugar daddy,” Jonghyun replies, a bit breathless.
***
“Lee Chanhee. And he said he runs Tails and Whiskers?” Changhyun asks. After failing to track Chanhee from the coffeeshop, they had decided to run home really fast to do a basic background check.
“Yeah that’s what he said,” Jonghyun says.
“What is a rich man like him doing at this cheap coffee shop?”
“His office is right around the corner.”
“True,” Changhyun says with a few slow nods after a quick search on the internet. “But what is he doing in his office on Saturday?” he asks, eyes narrowing.
“Workaholic,” Jonghyun says. Jonghyun doesn’t really know if that’s true. He’s just defending Chanhee’s case for some reason. He finds himself actually on Chanhee’s side of sorts, which is weird.
Changhyun pushes his laptop towards Jonghyun. “This one?”
On the screen is a recent newspaper article praising how Lee Chanhee pulled organic pet food manufacturer Tails and Whiskers out of a slump. It’s an interview. There’s a portrait photo of Chanhee, sitting at his table in his office, in suit and tie with a confident smile. He looks really handsome with brown hair that is orderly but still a bit messy. So young, almost like a boyband member. But if you pay attention really hard then you will see a bit of lines at the corners of his eyes.
“Yeah,” Jonghyun says, a bit surprised at seeing Chanhee again, this time in a newspaper article. His sugar daddy is famous.
“Good,” Changhyun says, exhaling loudly. “So he’s actually known, somewhat. I will worry a little less about you being killed and nobody knowing who did it.”
Jonghyun shivers.
“So what’s the deal?” Changhyun asks.
“He said he just needs someone to pretend to be his date to make his ex-girlfriend jealous,” Jonghyun says.
“You don’t have to have sex?”
“No.”
“Well this is too good.”
“That’s what I said too!”
Changhyun looks thoughtful. “So what do you think?”
Jonghyun is yet to answer when suddenly his phone rings. He holds it up for Changhyun to see the name of the caller. Changhyun widens his eyes.
“Hello?”
***
Mr. Go glares at him when Jonghyun trades in his coupon. It’s one of the ten coupons that Changhyun managed to get the other day because Dongyeol committed the grave crime of ignoring the two of them. Changhyun was so proud of the fact that Mr. Go had to give him the coupons just so he would shut up and allow everyone to do their job.
Jonghyun sits down at a table. It’s late afternoon on Monday after school and he is waiting for his sugar daddy, wearing his newest-looking hoodie. The man already said just show up as he is but he still wants to impress.
“Why did you call me here?” he asks when Chanhee appears in front of him.
“I wanted to see you,” Chanhee says, settling down in his chair before leaning back with a smirk.
That’s creepy. Jonghyun contemplates standing up, turning 180 degree and running away from the coffeeshop.
“I kid!” Chanhee says and laughs, then his face turns serious. “We need to discuss our game plan."
A source told him that this Friday, Sunyoung, his ex-girlfriend, is going to be having dinner with her new boyfriend at this restaurant. “We’re going to be there too,” Chanhee says. “And I’m going to be the perfect date. And she’s going to rethink her decision. You need to show up and pretend to be happy about being my date.”
That’s not too hard…Oh no there’s a problem though. “What’s the dress code?” Jonghyun asks. He’s worried.
Chanhee laughs dismissively. “Business casual. It’s not a really fancy restaurant. It’s just a normal date restaurant. A bit more expensive than a diner, that’s all.”
Jonghyun sighs. “I…”
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry this is embarrassing but I don’t have nice clothes to wear," Jonghyun says uneasily. "Can I get paid some in advance? I know it’s bad business because I ask for money before the service is done but –"
“Sure read to me your bank account!” Chanhee says.
***
“Can…can I see it again?” Changhyun asks. He stares at the text in Jonghyun’s phone informing him of the changing balance. He has been staring at it since Jonghyun reached home yesterday evening.
This morning, because they have no school, Changhyun and Jonghyun go to the department store so Jonghyun can have a makeover like in Pretty Woman.
“This is where you get nice clothes,” Changhyun says.
This corner of the department store looks well organised. There are only a few items hanging on the racks and not many shoppers. The employees are dressed smartly too in the store’s own clothes.
Jonghyun has never set foot in here. He only hangs out in other sections where the racks are a bit crowded and where there are way too many shoppers, who put the clothes in all the wrong places after trying them on, and where there are not enough employees to put the clothes back into their proper places.
Changhyun puts on a suit jacket. Dashing. Jonghyun gives him a thumb up in the mirror.
“It’s horrible,” he says with a pout as he looks at himself.
“Why? You look nice.”
“That’s exactly why. People who are not hot never have the same problem as I do. I look good in anything and I can’t buy all of them.”
Changhyun puts the jacket back on the rack.
They go on to pick out Jonghyun’s clothes. It’s not too hard when you have money. Jonghyun picks up all the things he likes, without having to weigh them against one another, and together they don’t add up to nearly the sum that has just been transferred to his bank account.
“This is like a dream,” Jonghyun says, looking at how the saleswoman is putting his stuff into a nice paper bag with matte finish with the store’s logo engraved in gold on it as they wait at the counter to pay.
“Mm hmm,” answers Changhyun distractedly. Jonghyun turns to his side and sees that he’s looking at the jacket from earlier, which is on a rack near the counter. So Jonghyun gently nudges his shoulder.
“Go on I’ll pay,” Jonghyun says.
Changhyun turns to look at him. “You will?”
“Yeah,” Jonghyun says and smiles. “You have been paying the rent for the past few months.”
He only finishes saying that when Changhyun is already holding the jacket in his hands.
“But the rent alone doesn’t add up to this,” Changhyun says, reading the price tag again and pouting.
“Man. Thank you for supporting me selflessly and lending me money when you don’t know whether I would pay back. Later when you get rich, don’t forget me. And if I get rich, I won’t forget you either,” Jonghyun says, then with his arm pulls Changhyun closer and rests his head against Changhyun’s briefly.
Changhyun looks at him, lets out a sigh and his pout turns into a gentle smile. His voice falters a bit. “Can’t believe we’re having a moment in a department store,” he says.
***
It’s only about ten times as expensive compared to a diner. The light is yellow. The silverware is custom made with the restaurant’s name on it, and the wine glass in front of him is crystal.
Jonghyun runs his fingers on the shiny and spotless forks and spoons on the two sides of his plate. There are so many of them. He realizes that he forgot to learn table manners like in Pretty Woman.
“Don’t bother,” Chanhee says, as if reading his mind, causing Jonghyun to look up at him. “Like I told you, it’s not too fancy here. Also you’re with me, not someone you have to impress.”
“I don’t have to impress you?” Jonghyun asks.
Chanhee stares at him then laughs good-naturedly. “No,” he says then looks around.
Right. Jonghyun doesn’t need to impress him. They’re not in a relationship or something. They’re pretending to.
“There she is,” says Chanhee, gesturing with his head towards the door then takes a sip from his glass of water.
A couple have just entered. The waiter greets them and guides them to a table not too close to Chanhee and Jonghyun’s but where they can definitely see them. She is beautiful and has on her face a smile as the man who is with her helps her take off her coat and pulls the chair out for her and gently pushes it in as she sits down. It could be because of her flawless makeup, but this kind of beauty, Jonghyun feels, is not approachable.
Lost in thoughts, Jonghyun doesn’t pay attention. When he notices, the woman is standing next to Chanhee, gently tapping his shoulder with a hand.
“Hi Chanhee,” she says when Chanhee stands up.
“Oh hi Sunyoung!” Chanhee says, feigning surprise. “You’re here too?”
“Yeah I’m here with Daniel. (The man next to her nods to Chanhee.) How about you?”
“Oh let me introduce you two. This is Jonghyun my date,” he says. “And this is Sunyoung, my friend.”
Jonghyun shakes Sunyoung’s hand. “My pleasure,” she says, which Jonghyun echoes.
It’s Daniel and Sunyoung’s one year anniversary, Daniel says. They exchange polite pleasantries that make Jonghyun cringe from the superficiality, before Sunyoung says, “Well, we just came to say hi. Enjoy your dinner,” and then Sunyoung and Daniel make their way back to their table.
“Can’t believe it’s been a year,” Chanhee says, looking blankly at his empty plate.
Jonghyun feels sorry for Chanhee. He really wants to help Chanhee even though he receives a flat rate whether this venture works out or not.
“And to me it feels like it’s just yesterday when she left me. I thought –“
Jonghyun reaches out from across the table and cups his cheek to bring his face up. “Shh,” Jonghyun says. Sunyoung could be looking. Jonghyun can’t let Chanhee look sullen like this for so long.
“You know what? I’m thinking if we know more about each other we’ll act better. Then we’ll be more likely to succeed in this,” Jonghyun says.
Changhyun is speaking through him.
Chanhee is a bit taken aback. Then he gives a few slow nods, showing agreement with Jonghyun’s genius and then gradually his expression eases into a smile. Jonghyun feels a smile blooming on his face too. Chanhee looks happy and excited now. When they’re closer Jonghyun will definitely tell him to smile more because his smiles are the best.
“So Jonghyun, tell me about yourself,” Chanhee says.
***
Jonghyun, as we all know, is a freshman studying dance. His parents do not like that, so they cut him off. Everybody thinks he made a dumb decision, except this one guy who has been his friend since primary school, and who made the exact same decision, after they, without their parents’ knowledge, joined and won a dance competition in senior year of high school. That guy has also been cut off by his respective parents, and is living with Jonghyun right now, and he’s stripping for money.
But Chanhee is, can Jonghyun say, interesting? Inspiring? Lovely? He calls himself a food connoisseur, eating at fine restaurants and making good food for himself and loved ones when he has time. At the same time, he loves cats and dogs. That is why he created Tails and Whiskers, because he wants pets to be food connoisseurs too.
There was a pause when talking about Jonghyun’s life but Jonghyun did not let Chanhee dwell on that for too long. And then they smiled when Chanhee recalled of that point when Tails and Whiskers broke even for the first time, and smiled a lot when the company broke even for the second time recently, and laughed at the story of how the competitor company tried to fail them by paying a food inspector to start an unexpected inspection. The inspector was making it difficult and it disrupted business, but then as expected found nothing. And Tails and Whiskers gained even more love from customers afterwards.
The highlight of the evening was when Sunyoung and her fish-lipped boyfriend came over to say goodbye because they had run out of conversation between themselves while Jonghyun and Chanhee had not. And Chanhee only stood up to greet them briefly then sat down immediately so he could resume talking to Jonghyun. You should’ve seen the look of confusion, Jonghyun thinks, on Sunyoung’s face when Chanhee broke the conversation with her first instead of letting her do so like at the beginning of the evening.
Chanhee, who has been the perfect date just the way he planned, asked to drive Jonghyun home when the evening ended. But Jonghyun did not want Mr. Han to have any questions, so he didn’t allow it, so they settled with saying goodbye a few blocks away from where Jonghyun lives.
It’s not too late at night when Chanhee stops his car by the curb and opens the door for Jonghyun to step out.
“I had a lot of fun today,” Chanhee says with a smile. “Thank you.”
“No worries,” Jonghyun says. He had a lot of fun too.
“Your money will be in your account by tomorrow morning,” Chanhee says. Jonghyun for some reason feels a very slight pang in his chest. He only nods.
“Oh I forgot to ask. Was the money I transferred in advance enough for the clothes?”
“Yes,” Jonghyun says, more than enough actually. “I also bought some clothes for Changhyun. He’s so happy. It made me cry a little. And we made a promise to never forget each other,” Jonghyun says and unconsciously smiles at the cheesy memory.
“I’m so glad!” Chanhee says. Then he looks like he realizes something.
“I can’t remember the last time I had friends,” he says.
Jonghyun does not yet know what to say when Chanhee speaks again, his eyes lighting up. “Listen. I have an idea,” Chanhee says, “Will you be my friend? I’ll pay you extra.”
(to be continued)