[PG-13] Caught in Between (7/25)
Title: Caught in Between
Characters: Kyuhyun/Taeyeon/Eunhyuk, Donghae/Jessica, Sungmin/Sunny, Siwon/Tiffany
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance, Friendship, Comedy, Drama
“What happened to you?” Heechul demanded angrily as soon as he saw Taeyeon limp her way to the kitchen.
“I was careless and tripped,” Taeyeon answered sheepishly.
“She was trying on my heels,” Sunny said in a singsong voice, entering the kitchen and grabbing a slice of bread.
“I was not,” Taeyeon vehemently denied.
“Then why were they under your bed?” Sunny inquired.
“I don’t know how it got there,” Taeyeon retorted. “You’re a messy person. Stop leaving your stuff in my room.”
Sunny rolled her eyes. “I’m pretty sure I never leave stuff in your room. You, on the other hand…”
“That’s enough,” Heechul said. “Why didn’t you call me about this?”
“We didn’t want to worry you,” Sunny said.
“And we had it under control,” Taeyeon added.
“How are you getting to school?” Heechul then asked.
“Eunhyuk,” Taeyeon and Sunny chorused.
“And Sungmin?” Heechul said.
Taeyeon glanced at Sunny, who didn’t answer. “He’s meeting us in school. He said he needed to bring a car because he’s going somewhere after school,” Taeyeon lied.
“Alright,” Heechul said, not noticing anything weird.
~ * ~
“Are you okay?” Eunhyuk asked, helping Taeyeon go out of the classroom.
“I’m fine,” Taeyeon repeated for what felt like was the millionth time. “Stop asking me.”
“Sorry,” Eunhyuk said sarcastically, handing her the crutches. “I’m actually being concerned for you.”
Taeyeon sighed. “Sorry,” she told him. “It’s just people have been asking me that a lot and it’s really starting to get to me. It makes me feel like I’m going to drop dead any moment.”
Sungmin laughed really loudly at this. Then suddenly his face turned really serious. Taeyeon and Eunhyuk looked in the direction he was looking. Sunny was walking by with Hyoyeon. She had decided to stop hanging out with them altogether.
“She’s really holding a grudge, isn’t she?” Sungmin commented.
“Not exactly,” Taeyeon corrected. “It hasn’t been that long.”
He glared at her. “Then how long does it have to be? I don’t even know what I did.”
Taeyeon felt bad for him so she decided to give him a hint. “It’s Yoona.”
“What?” Sungmin and Eunhyuk both asked, looking at her.
Taeyeon cleared her throat and decided to take it back. It was too complicated. “I mean, Yoona’s coming. See you later.”
“I don’t see her,” Sungmin said, looking around.
She started to walk away hurriedly, but she only nearly tripped. Eunhyuk laughed. “I thought you were concerned for me. Why are you laughing?”
That wiped the smirk off his face. “Here, let me carry your bag,” he offered.
~ * ~
“She’s really smart, isn’t she?” Yoona remarked as they watched Eunhyuk carry Taeyeon’s bag.
“What do you mean?” Yuri asked confusedly.
“She sprained her ankle to get Eunhyuk’s attention back,” Yoona clarified.
“That’s ridiculous,” Jessica said. “No one would intentionally hurt themselves to get someone’s attention. No one’s that stupid.”
“Well, we don’t know how Taeyeon’s mind works,” Yoona said, turning to Yuri. “You should do something about this.”
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong in helping her out,” Yuri said hesitantly. “Besides, we spent a lot of time during the weekend. I don’t want him to get tired of me.”
“Right,” Yoona replied. “And what time would that be? You never even held hands, not even close to kissing.”
“We’re taking our time,” Yuri said defensively.
“If you say so,” Yoona said with a shrug.
Jessica sighed. She was tired of talking about this every single time they got together. “Where are Sooyoung and Tiffany?”
“No idea,” Yoona said.
“What did you do during the weekend?” Yuri asked Jessica.
“I stayed home and slept,” Jessica said.
“What a surprise,” Yoona commented, smiling a little.
“Hankyung seemed to miss you a lot,” Yuri told her. “He was always going off by himself.”
“Really? I wonder why he never called,” Jessica said. “Anyway, I’ll see you guys later.” She grabbed her bag and left.
“Are they having problems?” Yuri asked.
Yoona only looked away.
~ * ~
“Hey babe! I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Hankyung said as he saw Jessica approach.
“Right,” was Jessica’s response. “Is that why I haven’t gotten a call from you since Saturday? Where have you been?” she demanded, clearly upset.
“I’ve been busy with --,” he began.
“Let me guess: basketball, school and work,” she enumerated. She turned around and started to walk away.
“Sica,” he said, going after her. “Look, I’m sorry. I’ve just been really caught up with stuff. I’ll make it up to you.”
“How?” she wanted to know, her arms crossed.
“What do you say we have dinner at your favorite restaurant tonight?” Hankyung suggested, smiling a little.
“That’s it?” Jessica asked in disappointment. She rolled her eyes and started walking again.
“Okay, how about I pick you up for school every morning, plus dinner and movies every night this week?” he tried again.
Jessica seemed to be thinking about it. “My choice?”
“Yes, anything you want,” he told her. “Are we good?”
She started to smile. “Okay.”
Hankyung smiled and put his arm around her and kissed her forehead.
~ * ~
“Hey.”
Sunny looked up and saw Shindong smiling at her. She was in the library, doing some research. “Are you lost?” she asked him.
“Why would you think that?” Shindong replied.
“I don’t know if you noticed, but you’re in the library,” she told him, her eyebrows raised.
“What, I can’t hang out here anymore?” he said.
“This isn’t exactly a hang out spot,” she replied, going back to her work.
“It’s a good place for sleeping,” Shindong shared. “One time, I was really tired from practice and --.”
“Sorry, did I ask?” Sunny interrupted him.
“What?” Shindong looked taken aback.
Sunny sighed. “I see I’m not going to get some studying done here.” She packed her stuff and walked out of the library.
Shindong followed her. “Where are you going?”
“Why are you following me?” Sunny asked. “Are you stalking me?”
“Of course not,” he said, shaking his head. “I just wanted to hang out.”
“Go away,” Sunny said cruelly. “I don’t hang out with kingkas.” She started walking away hurriedly when suddenly she saw Yoona and Sungmin sitting beside each other in the quad, laughing. Sungmin saw her and she stopped in her tracks, pretending she didn’t see them.
Sungmin stood up and called her.
Sunny then saw Shindong. “Hey,” she said, grabbing his hand. “You wanted to hang out, right? Let’s do that now.”
“But I thought you said you didn’t --.” He stopped when she glared at him. “Okay.”
Sungmin watched in surprise as Sunny left with Shindong. Since when were they friends?
~ * ~
“Oh no she didn’t!” Hyoyeon exclaimed loudly, startling other students.
“What? What?” Donghae asked, looking around.
Hyoyeon pointed at Sunny and Shindong walking together.
“Hyo, you can’t stop Shindong from talking to other girls in this school,” Seohyun said, chuckling a little. “Besides, Sunny’s your friend.”
“That’s precisely the point,” Hyoyeon retorted. “She’s my friend and so she shouldn’t be hanging out with him.”
“Why don’t you just go up to him and profess your love?” Siwon teased her.
“Oh, you mean like what you did to Tiffany?” Hyoyeon responded sweetly, facing him.
Siwon’s face turned red. “I did no such thing.”
“Siwon’s a natural charmer,” Donghae said, defending him.
“Right,” Hyoyeon said. “I suppose only Tiffany finds stuttering and stammering charming.”
~ * ~
Kyuhyun watched as Eunhyuk helped Taeyeon get in the passenger seat of his car.
“It’s really hard not being able to talk to her in school, isn’t it?”
Kyuhyun looked behind him. “What do you want?”
“I don’t want anything from you,” Sooyoung said. “I just wanted to state the obvious. I wonder if she notices that she doesn’t see you often in school. Doesn’t she think that you’re hiding from her?”
“Our schedules are just different,” Kyuhyun said.
“You’re in the same year,” Sooyoung pointed out, chuckling a little.
“Seriously, what do you want?” he asked, facing her.
“Nothing much,” she said. “I just want you to get Taeyeon off Eunhyuk’s hands.”
“What?” he asked.
“Taeyeon is taking too much of Eunhyuk’s time. That’s time he could be spending with Yuri instead,” Sooyoung shared, looking at her nails. She then looked at him. “It’s either that or Taeyeon finds out that you’re a fraud.”
“I’m not a fraud,” Kyuhyun spat.
“Hmm,” Sooyoung responded. “Not telling her that you’re a kingka, a group she’s not fond of. Not telling her that you used to be friends with Eunhyuk, that you used to date me, that your family owns Cho Ji Min Center, where her grandmother’s staying… that seems like being a fraud to me. You’re not who she thinks you are. Don’t get me started on your past, Kyuhyun.” She moved closer to him. “That makes me think… Why haven’t you told her?”
Kyuhyun knew that answer to that. It was nice to be able to hang out with someone who never knew what he was like. He could start fresh and be the person he always wanted to be.
Sooyoung shrugged when he didn’t answer. “Whatever. The deal’s simple really. Just hang out with her more often. I’ll make sure Taeyeon, not even Eunhyuk, would find out.”
Kyuhyun took a deep breath as Sooyoung walked away.
Characters: Kyuhyun/Taeyeon/Eunhyuk, Donghae/Jessica, Sungmin/Sunny, Siwon/Tiffany
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance, Friendship, Comedy, Drama
“What happened to you?” Heechul demanded angrily as soon as he saw Taeyeon limp her way to the kitchen.
“I was careless and tripped,” Taeyeon answered sheepishly.
“She was trying on my heels,” Sunny said in a singsong voice, entering the kitchen and grabbing a slice of bread.
“I was not,” Taeyeon vehemently denied.
“Then why were they under your bed?” Sunny inquired.
“I don’t know how it got there,” Taeyeon retorted. “You’re a messy person. Stop leaving your stuff in my room.”
Sunny rolled her eyes. “I’m pretty sure I never leave stuff in your room. You, on the other hand…”
“That’s enough,” Heechul said. “Why didn’t you call me about this?”
“We didn’t want to worry you,” Sunny said.
“And we had it under control,” Taeyeon added.
“How are you getting to school?” Heechul then asked.
“Eunhyuk,” Taeyeon and Sunny chorused.
“And Sungmin?” Heechul said.
Taeyeon glanced at Sunny, who didn’t answer. “He’s meeting us in school. He said he needed to bring a car because he’s going somewhere after school,” Taeyeon lied.
“Alright,” Heechul said, not noticing anything weird.
~ * ~
“Are you okay?” Eunhyuk asked, helping Taeyeon go out of the classroom.
“I’m fine,” Taeyeon repeated for what felt like was the millionth time. “Stop asking me.”
“Sorry,” Eunhyuk said sarcastically, handing her the crutches. “I’m actually being concerned for you.”
Taeyeon sighed. “Sorry,” she told him. “It’s just people have been asking me that a lot and it’s really starting to get to me. It makes me feel like I’m going to drop dead any moment.”
Sungmin laughed really loudly at this. Then suddenly his face turned really serious. Taeyeon and Eunhyuk looked in the direction he was looking. Sunny was walking by with Hyoyeon. She had decided to stop hanging out with them altogether.
“She’s really holding a grudge, isn’t she?” Sungmin commented.
“Not exactly,” Taeyeon corrected. “It hasn’t been that long.”
He glared at her. “Then how long does it have to be? I don’t even know what I did.”
Taeyeon felt bad for him so she decided to give him a hint. “It’s Yoona.”
“What?” Sungmin and Eunhyuk both asked, looking at her.
Taeyeon cleared her throat and decided to take it back. It was too complicated. “I mean, Yoona’s coming. See you later.”
“I don’t see her,” Sungmin said, looking around.
She started to walk away hurriedly, but she only nearly tripped. Eunhyuk laughed. “I thought you were concerned for me. Why are you laughing?”
That wiped the smirk off his face. “Here, let me carry your bag,” he offered.
~ * ~
“She’s really smart, isn’t she?” Yoona remarked as they watched Eunhyuk carry Taeyeon’s bag.
“What do you mean?” Yuri asked confusedly.
“She sprained her ankle to get Eunhyuk’s attention back,” Yoona clarified.
“That’s ridiculous,” Jessica said. “No one would intentionally hurt themselves to get someone’s attention. No one’s that stupid.”
“Well, we don’t know how Taeyeon’s mind works,” Yoona said, turning to Yuri. “You should do something about this.”
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong in helping her out,” Yuri said hesitantly. “Besides, we spent a lot of time during the weekend. I don’t want him to get tired of me.”
“Right,” Yoona replied. “And what time would that be? You never even held hands, not even close to kissing.”
“We’re taking our time,” Yuri said defensively.
“If you say so,” Yoona said with a shrug.
Jessica sighed. She was tired of talking about this every single time they got together. “Where are Sooyoung and Tiffany?”
“No idea,” Yoona said.
“What did you do during the weekend?” Yuri asked Jessica.
“I stayed home and slept,” Jessica said.
“What a surprise,” Yoona commented, smiling a little.
“Hankyung seemed to miss you a lot,” Yuri told her. “He was always going off by himself.”
“Really? I wonder why he never called,” Jessica said. “Anyway, I’ll see you guys later.” She grabbed her bag and left.
“Are they having problems?” Yuri asked.
Yoona only looked away.
~ * ~
“Hey babe! I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Hankyung said as he saw Jessica approach.
“Right,” was Jessica’s response. “Is that why I haven’t gotten a call from you since Saturday? Where have you been?” she demanded, clearly upset.
“I’ve been busy with --,” he began.
“Let me guess: basketball, school and work,” she enumerated. She turned around and started to walk away.
“Sica,” he said, going after her. “Look, I’m sorry. I’ve just been really caught up with stuff. I’ll make it up to you.”
“How?” she wanted to know, her arms crossed.
“What do you say we have dinner at your favorite restaurant tonight?” Hankyung suggested, smiling a little.
“That’s it?” Jessica asked in disappointment. She rolled her eyes and started walking again.
“Okay, how about I pick you up for school every morning, plus dinner and movies every night this week?” he tried again.
Jessica seemed to be thinking about it. “My choice?”
“Yes, anything you want,” he told her. “Are we good?”
She started to smile. “Okay.”
Hankyung smiled and put his arm around her and kissed her forehead.
~ * ~
“Hey.”
Sunny looked up and saw Shindong smiling at her. She was in the library, doing some research. “Are you lost?” she asked him.
“Why would you think that?” Shindong replied.
“I don’t know if you noticed, but you’re in the library,” she told him, her eyebrows raised.
“What, I can’t hang out here anymore?” he said.
“This isn’t exactly a hang out spot,” she replied, going back to her work.
“It’s a good place for sleeping,” Shindong shared. “One time, I was really tired from practice and --.”
“Sorry, did I ask?” Sunny interrupted him.
“What?” Shindong looked taken aback.
Sunny sighed. “I see I’m not going to get some studying done here.” She packed her stuff and walked out of the library.
Shindong followed her. “Where are you going?”
“Why are you following me?” Sunny asked. “Are you stalking me?”
“Of course not,” he said, shaking his head. “I just wanted to hang out.”
“Go away,” Sunny said cruelly. “I don’t hang out with kingkas.” She started walking away hurriedly when suddenly she saw Yoona and Sungmin sitting beside each other in the quad, laughing. Sungmin saw her and she stopped in her tracks, pretending she didn’t see them.
Sungmin stood up and called her.
Sunny then saw Shindong. “Hey,” she said, grabbing his hand. “You wanted to hang out, right? Let’s do that now.”
“But I thought you said you didn’t --.” He stopped when she glared at him. “Okay.”
Sungmin watched in surprise as Sunny left with Shindong. Since when were they friends?
~ * ~
“Oh no she didn’t!” Hyoyeon exclaimed loudly, startling other students.
“What? What?” Donghae asked, looking around.
Hyoyeon pointed at Sunny and Shindong walking together.
“Hyo, you can’t stop Shindong from talking to other girls in this school,” Seohyun said, chuckling a little. “Besides, Sunny’s your friend.”
“That’s precisely the point,” Hyoyeon retorted. “She’s my friend and so she shouldn’t be hanging out with him.”
“Why don’t you just go up to him and profess your love?” Siwon teased her.
“Oh, you mean like what you did to Tiffany?” Hyoyeon responded sweetly, facing him.
Siwon’s face turned red. “I did no such thing.”
“Siwon’s a natural charmer,” Donghae said, defending him.
“Right,” Hyoyeon said. “I suppose only Tiffany finds stuttering and stammering charming.”
~ * ~
Kyuhyun watched as Eunhyuk helped Taeyeon get in the passenger seat of his car.
“It’s really hard not being able to talk to her in school, isn’t it?”
Kyuhyun looked behind him. “What do you want?”
“I don’t want anything from you,” Sooyoung said. “I just wanted to state the obvious. I wonder if she notices that she doesn’t see you often in school. Doesn’t she think that you’re hiding from her?”
“Our schedules are just different,” Kyuhyun said.
“You’re in the same year,” Sooyoung pointed out, chuckling a little.
“Seriously, what do you want?” he asked, facing her.
“Nothing much,” she said. “I just want you to get Taeyeon off Eunhyuk’s hands.”
“What?” he asked.
“Taeyeon is taking too much of Eunhyuk’s time. That’s time he could be spending with Yuri instead,” Sooyoung shared, looking at her nails. She then looked at him. “It’s either that or Taeyeon finds out that you’re a fraud.”
“I’m not a fraud,” Kyuhyun spat.
“Hmm,” Sooyoung responded. “Not telling her that you’re a kingka, a group she’s not fond of. Not telling her that you used to be friends with Eunhyuk, that you used to date me, that your family owns Cho Ji Min Center, where her grandmother’s staying… that seems like being a fraud to me. You’re not who she thinks you are. Don’t get me started on your past, Kyuhyun.” She moved closer to him. “That makes me think… Why haven’t you told her?”
Kyuhyun knew that answer to that. It was nice to be able to hang out with someone who never knew what he was like. He could start fresh and be the person he always wanted to be.
Sooyoung shrugged when he didn’t answer. “Whatever. The deal’s simple really. Just hang out with her more often. I’ll make sure Taeyeon, not even Eunhyuk, would find out.”
Kyuhyun took a deep breath as Sooyoung walked away.