Title: At the Bottom of Dante's Inferno
Rating: PG-13 to NC-17
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Smut, Romance
Length: Chaptered
Beta-ed:
mayday65Summary: In between business and errands, a secretive affair between Jaejoong and Yunho blooms, a relationship with a married man, that is. Yunho was married to Yoona, the person who made him the wealthy man he is today, but what if his strong attraction towards Jaejoong keeps him from being faithful to his wife? As the affair continues, Yunho and Jaejoong are pushed down to the last layer of hell, according to the hell geography designed by Dante, the author of their favorite book, The Inferno (but metaphorically of course). Frustrated, Yunho chose a sinful path to end all ultimatums threatening his relationship with Jaejoong.
***
Chapter 1
He had dashing looks, lean and sturdy with a strong air of dependability to accompany him. As he walked inside the meeting room, people raised their heads to look at him-- more like stare at him. He knew just what they were staring at; he had everything a man could ever dream of: money, power, and a beautiful partner. Yunho was used to it, so it didn't matter to him when the older stockholders scrutinized their gazes at him, all wondering how he got the position of a CEO at such a young age. Sure, they knew that he married the heiress, but how he had managed to win her heart remained a mystery to the public. He had little education on his resume; heck, even some people in the company had higher education than him. He had no blood connections to the other corporations the Ims were in relations with either. So most people were rather surprised at the fact that a young man, his hometown unknown, was currently substituting for his ill father-in-law as the CEO of one of the leading fashion corporations.
Yunho was a quick man; he had wits and charms, he had good manners and was an affable person, and Yunho had used this to his advantage various times. He had a dominant character, yet he hid it well with a facade of modesty and never put himself before others. Hence many had called him a leader, a natural leader that was, one who could shoulder heavy responsibilities and get his tasks done quickly; and despite so, there were some who thought otherwise.
Yunho got the meeting over quickly, his mind already thinking about taking his new car out for a ride. He was a man for speed. He loved feeling the wind in his hair, the adventurous scales of the road, the raging current of speed, and the turbulent wave of danger. The night had fallen earlier than expected, and Yunho was glad of that fact. For drifting was best when the moon was out and the air was slightly cooler. He promised himself to make up for the lack of speed he had to endure with that same morning.
For the rest of the day, Yunho spent pulling together files and wrapping up important documents. As soon as he was able to leave the building and walk to his car, Yunho heard his voice being called out from behind. The loud and overpowering voice came from none other than his secretary, Max.
It was that same reaction every time he saw Max. The boy just couldn't seem to stop growing; he used to be a cute and humble secretary running around and getting his tasks done, yet within the span of one year, he had completely grown out of that shell. He had a sexy image now, a man with thick muscular arms like those of Yunho's. His voice was deep and overpowering -- almost to the point of intimidating those he talked to. Yunho had to admit, he was starting to feel annoyed with the fact that Max had grown even taller than him. But that wasn't all; as soon as the figure loomed closer to his shadow, Yunho was blown off his track. For Max seemed to have a special surprise inside his arms.
Yunho stared at the angel inside his secretary's arms, the same angel that he had seen that same morning; he was still in the dark pair of skinny jeans and a plain white dress shirt. He noted how the young boy was looking very uncomfortable while Changmin was looking like a hungry beast, ready to swallow the boy wholly at any second. As Max acquainted the CEO with the feminine boy, he flashed a smile back at Yunho, politely introducing himself as "Kim Jaejoong."
Yunho relapsed into the state somewhat similar to how he was that morning, in which he was lost in the angel's beauty; he felt his muscles weakening, his strength gone in a second, and his voice abandoning him. Those two words composed of the soft velvet voice flooded Yunho's sanity, imprinting the name onto his memory. Yunho was even more impressed with himself when he somehow managed to look straight into the eyes of the strikingly beautiful boy. He loved the amorous trance that the boy had put him in. It almost seemed addictive; the hypnotic state wiping out his course of thought and enclosing him within its blissful rapture. For a second, Yunho found his heart slowly melting into the boy's smile, jittering butterflies filling the core of what was left of his energy.
"Uhmm.. Hello? Mr. Jung?" It was Max's booming voice that woke him up from the deep trance. For once, Yunho mentally thanked the young secretary for his physical development; Changmin's voice had saved him from self-embarrassment in front of the beauty. After a while of internal struggles with finding speech, Yunho was able to find the depth of his voice again.
"Hi.. Nice to meet you Mr. Kim, I'm Yunho."
"You can call me Jaejoong," the husky voice replied, quickening Yunho's heartbeat.
"My, my, my.. looks like Mr. Jung here is a little shy," Changmin spoke as he tapped the CEO's shoulder, his brows furrowing, "Jaejoong here is applying to model for our agency and I have accepted his application. I was thinking, why don't we let him model for the new clothing line too, since he's so gorgeous and the CEO is already head over heels for him?"
Yunho immediately drew his eyes from Jaejoong and shot his secretary a death glare. He knew he was at his weakest, and he cursed his throat for not letting him find the superiority in his voice. But he liked the idea of letting Jaejoong model for the apparel line. Yunho looked Jaejoong up and down, silently admiring his well-defined features. He had the perfect waist size, the type that could swing gracefully side by side as he walked the runway. His legs were long and lean, only a couple inches shorter than Yunho's, and he had an overall excellent posture. There was no need to describe his face; he simply had the face of an angel, perhaps even more beautiful than that. His blushing cheeks made beautiful contrast with the fair skin color, and when he smiled, his enthralling nature called for the earth to tremble with passion and lust. Such a sexy smile, Yunho thought to himself, Jaejoong could definitely catch a crowd's utmost attention.
The feminine boy sensed how the pair of eyes stared at him, its owners lost in his beauty. He felt exposed, but he wasn't the least uncomfortable with it. He actually liked it, he loved how the eyes seemed to be glued onto him. Even when Yunho was talking to Max, he could catch the simple side glances that the CEO was giving him. He looked rather handsome, Jaejoong acknowledged, the man perfectly portrayed the concept of every girl's dream man. He had pegged the CEO to be an old man, perhaps even a perverted one, hence the reason why he felt so uncomfortable with Max's idea of introducing him to the CEO, who he had said was his best friend. But the handsome hunk standing in front of him was the opposite of what he had thought.
"Good idea Changmin, I think Jaejoong here is qualified," Jaejoong's thoughts were interrupted as Yunho replied brusquely to Changmin. The taller version of the CEO then handed him a small portfolio. "Here's the contract, I've already gone over the contract with him.. but damn it.. I was so hungry I just had to go. It's perfect that we meet you here Yunho, why don't you take him out for dinner and have him to sign the contract there? Do your little brother a favor once in awhile okay?"
Without even waiting for a reply, Changmin held onto his stomach and made a quick run to his car, which was parked not so far away from Yunho's. The CEO chuckled at his friend; although Changmin had become snarkier than ever, his cuteness was still irresistible whenever hunger got to him.
Jaejoong joined in with laughing at Changmin's cuteness. He was rather surprised at the adorable actions that Max displayed, since the man looked like a serious person since the beginning. Yunho turned back to look at Jaejoong, feeling the tenseness of his back ease as Max's actions provoked laughter in the both of them.
"My car is parked around here, would you like to go for dinner? I mean...Well... If you'd rather just sign the contract in my office, that's... that's totally fine too."
Yunho started stuttering halfway through the offer, fearing that the angel would reject his invitation. However, Jaejoong was thinking otherwise. He was rather delighted by the question; he hadn't eaten anything all morning long, and who in their right mind would say no to someone so handsome?
"That'd be great. I'm quite hungry myself," came the simply reply accompanied with a pleasant smile. Before Yunho could come to his sense to know that Jaejoong had accepted his dinner offer, the feminine male had started providing references to some different restaurants.
So he led Jaejoong to his Mercedes, his heart beating like crazy, and the thought of taking his new ride out for some fun was pushed to the back of his mind. For the first five minutes or so of the ride, Yunho remained quiet, modesty still got the best of him. On the other hand, Jaejoong was dying for some interactions, he hated awkward silence.
"You seem nervous, try relaxing your shoulders, like this..."
While at a red light, he reached over and settled his hands lightly on Yunho's shoulders, tenderly giving them a small squeeze before pushing them down in a more relaxed position. "And it wouldn't hurt if you lean on the seat you know," Jaejoong continued before using one hand and pushed Yunho's body against the car seat. "There, doesn't that feel better now?"
What Jaejoong said was true, he had been too tense indeed. The simple methods had helped him greatly. Yunho had almost never hunched his shoulders, for he thought it was a bad habit, but he guessed that perhaps doing it once in awhile for relaxation purposes wouldn't hurt. "Thanks Jaejoong."
Once they got to the restaurant, one for the upper class that was, the hostess led them to a rather quiet spot at the corner, giving them the privacy they needed to sign the contract. Yunho smirked as he was watching the lady gawk at Jaejoong's beauty, almost too mesmerized to move her feet. While Jaejoong was spending his sweet time choosing and ordering the food, Yunho leaned in to ask the hostess for wine recommendations. The lady giggled before replying, "the Cabernet Sauvignon is widely known for creating a romantic atmosphere."
Jaejoong and Yunho widened their eyes and opened their mouths for protests, but before they could say anything, the hostess continued on with why she would recommend the Cabernet Sauvignon for the pair, whom she had thought as a couple going on a date.
"Yes, the Cabernet Sauvignon is created with the luscious grapes of sunny California. The 2006 version retains a vanilla flavor after swallowing, while the 2003 version possesses an alluring taste of oak and mint."
"Pardon me miss, we're not a couple. He's my boss."
"Ahh... I'm sorry," the hostess bowed and apologized. It couldn't be blamed though, because even Yunho and Jaejoong noticed it; they looked exactly like a couple, they seemed perfect for each other.
"It's alright, why don't you just get us the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon then? I like Vanilla," Jaejoong said before continuing on to order the food.
As soon as the lady scooted away from the table to get back to the front desk, Jaejoong and Yunho broke out in laughter. "Do we look that much like a couple? I mean... I'm a guy too," Jaejoong said, only to be responded with an even louder laugh from Yunho, "but you're stunning for a guy... did you notice how she looked at you as if you were the most beautiful thing in the world?"
"Really? I'm a guy... damn it.. why do people keep looking at me like that?"
"You probably get those reactions from people a lot, don't you? I mean, with your looks and all... it's not unusual for people to ogle over you," Yunho said, not even noticing that he was the reason for the sudden flushing redness on the other male's cheeks. "True, I do get that a lot, mostly from men though," Jaejoong replied, embarrassed at the fact that he attracted more men than women. "You know, that's the exact same look I had on my face the first moment I saw you this morning-- you're exceptionally gorgeous for a guy."
"This morning?"
"Ohh that.. Hahaha, I was the driver inside the car you passed by this morning. The one that almost hit you," Yunho reminded him as he watched the boy let out an "ah" of realization.
"You were the driver? I'm sorry, I didn't get to properly apologize to you because I was in a rush to get to the appointment with Max. I'm very sorry for the inconveniences I caused this morning."
"It's no problem really, I got so caught up with staring at you that I didn't mind," Yunho explained, finding himself being completely honest with Jaejoong. Once the wine and foods were served, the two went on chatting and eating happily, completely unaware that the hostess scoffed to a fellow waiter from faraway and said, "and they said they're not a couple."
"Now that you mentioned Max, are you guys.. you know.. together or something? Since I saw that he had his arms around you."
"Of course not! He's a strange kid really. He wasn't like all the others, he didn't gawked or stared at me at all. We had a casual talk about modeling for the company and before I knew it, he said he was very hungry and rushed me out of his office."
Jaejoong couldn't hold back his laughter; Changmin was indeed a very adorable person. "He said that I could go up to your office and sign the contract there. He also mentioned that you guys were best friends, so he put his arms around me and said that you'd be jealous once you saw a beautiful person inside his arms."
"The kid's ALWAYS hungry," Yunho emphasized, "trust me... he can eat everything in this restaurant and wouldn't be satisfied."
"Aishh... you're kidding again. Does he have a girlfriend? He looks very handsome too."
"No.. why, are you interested?"
"NO WAY!"
So the conversation went on with the pulchritudinous model and the attractive man chatting and laughing happily like a couple. Some of the waiters who waited upon the two could clearly see the flirtatious smiles being exchanged. They could do nothing but steal glances at Jaejoong's direction and quietly giggle to themselves.
"Hmm.. The Cabernet Sauvignon tastes very nice!" Jaejoong said to the waitress while Yunho nodded in agreement. He had always loved vanilla, but Yunho had never liked it before. However, this changed after their first interactions with each other. Could it be that perhaps Jaejoong smelled of vanilla and that their first "date" were accompanied by a 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon? Yunho didn't know, but he was 60% sure that Jaejoong had gotten drunk over the wine, since he smelled completely of vanilla and grape now.
A/N: First chapter is finally here *pheww*. Hahaha one more thing, I don't know much about wine, but once tasting the Cabernet Sauvignon at my uncle's party.. not sure which year the wine was made.. but it tasted of grapes and vanilla, perfect for Yunjae no?
How did I do? Comments are <3
Thanks to mayday65 for the beta!