pikasu
in
crosswards
my oven full of sunshine
Title: my oven full of sunshine, oneshot.
Pairing: Jaemin, Yoosu (if you squint), Yunjae!Friendship, Yoomin!Friendship
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 12,940w
Genre: Romance, Fluff, Supernatural, Drama, Angst
Summary: Changmin is a weatherman with an unusual ability. Jaejoong is an award-winning chef that's not as cheerful as he seems. Together, they meet, cook up a storm and slip sunshine into each other's little ovens in life.
loosely inspired by loveclouds's fic always the right forecast, where changmin can control the weather ♥
my oven full of sunshine;
weatherman meets award-winning chef, they cook up a storm, fall in love, and share kisses during the in-betweens.
---
i. running to the sun
Changmin has always been good at routines, never wasting a single second of time, never missing the bus, and always, always, getting to work at exactly 8:00a.m sharp every single day. He thinks it's to balance out the seemingly fickle nature of his job, where nature plays a huge role in determining his fate: either getting a promotion, or being thrown a few floors down the social skyscraper.
Yes, Changmin is a weatherman, and a pretty damn good one at that. Apparently, his success rate for predicting rain or shine is an astounding 99.9%, with the unfortunate 0.1% lost to the day Changmin split coffee on his table and in a fit of anger and childishness, had decided to hurl rain down on Seoul instead of glorious sunshine.
No one could comprehend how Changmin can easily guess tomorrow's fog, or the following day's meteor showers, blindfolded - such occurrences were too few and far between to categorize his predictions as 'coincidences' - but you see, Changmin has a knack for doing exactly just that.
Besides, Changmin can control the weather after all.
He didn't realize his unusual powers until a dare with Yoochun when they were twelve-ish, where he parts the cloudy skies in a moment of desperation for some form of distraction. Yoochun's eyes had widened when he saw the previously hidden sun shining as clear as day, bathing them in a sea of gold. Then, to Changmin's reluctance and Yoochun's amazing persuasion skills, Changmin manages to paint a picture of hearts and toy aeroplanes with nothing but the fluffy clouds as paint and the sky as his canvas.
So Changmin tries to make the best out of his ability, majoring in meteorology and everything in between, before going with the flow of nature and ending up as a weatherman for an international news station near the corner of Cherry Street.
(He occasionally helps Yoochun too, drawing 'I love you's' in the sky when Yoochun goes out on dates, and making sure the clouds were extra fluffy.)
Changmin is content with his work - the job pays well, maybe a little too well for a weatherman, but that's mostly because Changmin's probably the best weatherman in the world with his astounding success rate.
(And it was partly also to prevent Changmin from being tempted by one of the too many offers he receives almost every day from meteorology stations and whatnot. But Changmin didn't have to tell them that he's not going anywhere. He can use the extra pay he gets.)
Apart from his all-time record for the number of days he successfully predicts the weather, Changmin also holds the record for his perfect streak of punctuality-
-though the said record is currently being threatened as Changmin's alarm clock had refused to ring when dawn cracked, sending Changmin now sprinting down his apartment - hair flustered and breath smelling like whiffs of hastily made cappuccino - clutching onto his suitcase while simultaneously flapping his right arm, frantically trying to hail a cab. It was supposed to be a bright and cheery Monday morning with an occasional wisp of cloud drifting in the sky, like how Changmin had predicted, but this - Changmin thinks - is far from bright and cheery.
Changmin curses in between panting breaths as he successfully manages to nearly trip over the third consecutive sidewalk. He fumes. He fumes so bad that he literally radiates angry vibes from his pores, sending people of a ten-metre radius from him reeling in discomfort. His suit brushes angrily against his thighs; eyes searching frantically for any sign of a grey vehicle on the otherwise busy road.
"Damn it, goddamn it!" Changmin mutters furiously when the cabs pass him mockingly, one after the other - every one of them already carrying passengers.
Changmin can't afford to be late. He can't be late. Shim Changmin is never late for work. Ever.
So when a grey cab stops by the opposite sidewalk, with a person reaching out for the door handle, ready to get in, Changmin doesn't stop to rationalize - Changmin doesn't even think - and he sprints across the street, uncaring of the angry honks sent towards him, yanks open the other door and flings himself inside the cab.
The man's eyes widens in shock when he sees Changmin, a total stranger, diving into the cab he had hailed, with huge pleading eyes and his mop of chestnut-brown hair gleaming breathtakingly in the sunlight. He tries not to let his breath hitch.
"Please, oh god, please please please let me share the cab with you. I'm in a rush you see, and I really really need to get to work on time - we'll split the cost, or I can even pay the full cost, and treat you to lunch - if that's not enough. Or, or-" Changmin babbles pleadingly, palms pressed together as a form of pleading and his warm brown eyes widening desperately.
"Sure," the man replies easily, soft pink lips curling into a smile.
Changmin gapes in shock.
"I mean - I'm not in much of a hurry anyway - we can always drop you off first," he chuckles at Changmin's incredulous expression as he speaks. "Where are you heading to?"
"O! News," Changmin replies immediately.
"Really?" the man asks; pleasantly surprised. "That's good then - I'm heading near there too - we can drop off together then," he smiles good-naturedly at Changmin, doe-like eyes twinkling merrily in the light.
Changmin's savior - or so Changmin hails - then politely tells the driver their destination. The driver gives a curt nod, before driving off. Satisfied, the man turns to face Changmin again.
"Kim Jaejoong," he says cheerfully, extending his hand.
Changmin easily returns the smile and seals the handshake, heart feeling inexplicably warm. "Shim Changmin," he replies.
A solitary cloud drifts serenely in the sky as the two sit in companionable silence. Changmin makes an effort to give it some extra fluff, molding the cloud into a wispy heart. The cloud bobs happily back in response.
And that's how Changmin meets Jaejoong, on that beautiful Monday morning where everything had seemed to go wrong.
But then, Changmin thinks as his blonde-haired companion starts to blabber on about missing coffee cups and traffic in Seoul, that finally - finally something is going right.
---
ii. a spoonful of sugar
Changmin finds Jaejoong something like a best friend he had never known, exchanging stories with laughter and silent giggles punctuating every sentence. There is never a lull in the conversation, and Changmin thinks he's never felt so comfortable, so himself when he speaks to others than to Jaejoong.
They talk about everything and anything under the sun, of cloudy days (Jaejoong hates it when it rains), of cosmic forces (love is the greatest force of them all, Jaejoong wisely says), and celestial bodies suspended, frozen in time, in the vast expanse of outer space.
"Cassiopeia," Jaejoong tells him, eyes clouded with dreams and twinkling stars. "That's the constellation I fell in love with."
Changmin giggles at Jaejoong's description, imagining hearts traced over Jaejoong's eyes and blush-tinted cheeks when he sees Cassiopeia in a starry night, he wants to tell Jaejoong about how hilarious he sounds, or how his eyes reflect the light so beautifully Changmin thinks he might be seeing stars in them too.
"How does it look like?" Changmin settles for a harmless question instead.
Jaejoong grins excitedly like a five-year-old to candy. Changmin tries not to laugh.
"Do the peace sign!" Jaejoong demands.
Changmin blinks in confusion, swallowing his outburst when he sees Jaejoong's overly excited look, and compiles to doing so, sticking out his two fingers awkwardly, his skin tingling from the cold blast of wind from the air-conditioner.
Jaejoong beams encouragingly, and spreads out his fingers like how Changmin did. He holds it up to the sun, as if to capture the burning orb between his fingers, before bringing it down to connect them with Changmin's fingers. The connection seems as if it closes a circuit Changmin never knew existed in the first place, and suddenly Changmin feels as if electricity is coursing through his entire body; an inexplicable warmth taking over his mind.
"See, it forms a W," Jaejoong breathes. "Cassiopeia."
They pass a traffic light turning from amber to green, meshing together with the reds and whites of car lights, momentarily blinding Changmin's train of thought, leaving him to gulp moisture down his parched throat and stare into Jaejoong's starry eyes.
Changmin forces himself not to think about Jaejoong's fingers, not to think about how their fingers just seem to fit.
-
"Do you believe in fate?" Jaejoong suddenly asks when they hit a red light.
Changmin blinks once, twice. Changmin considers himself as a realist - never an idealist, never a dreamer. He prefers taking a practical approach in any situation; mind governed by logic instead of emotions and wild imaginations.
But then he thinks of his power, thinks of the slight interruption in his routine, and thinks of how it had led to him meeting Jaejoong. His fingers unconsciously twirl about in haphazard circles, mixing the whites of the clouds with the blues of the sky as he ponders.
"Yes," Changmin finally says. "Yes."
Because if this isn't fate, Changmin thinks as he faces a grinning Jaejoong. I don't know what is.
-
The world spins and flickers past fleetingly like panorama shots on Polaroids as the taxi swerves past highways, while Changmin and Jaejoong lay comfortably within, trapped in their own happy bubble.
Changmin learns random things about Jaejoong - the slight curvature of his lips when he thinks deeeply, his liking for anything sweet and cuddly and most of all, he finds out that Jaejoong can act flawlessly like a five-year-old and yet look incredibly mature at the same time.
"Look!" Jaejoong exclaims, finger pointing eagerly at the clouds in the sky. "That cloud looks like an elephant!"
He earns a chuckle from Changmin, and a slight stifle of a laughter from the cab driver; pouting in response.
"What's so funny!" Jaejoong huffs, poking Changmin cheeks in retaliation.
"Hey!" Changmin says, flustered, as he sees Jaejoong incessantly poking his cheeks.
Just as Jaejoong was about to poke Changmin again, he spots another cloud in the distance past the looming skyscrapers and busy traffic.
"Changmin! Changmin!" Jaejoong squeals excitedly. "That cloud looks like you!"
Changmin stares at the cloud, quirking an eyebrow at Jaejoong's frantic gestures. That cloud so did not look like him. He's definitely cuter - And less warped as well, he huffs in indignation. But still, Changmin thinks in wonderment, no adult ever finds time and spots cloud shapes anymore - apart from Jaejoong of course. It was just such a...kid thing to do.
But Changmin secretly moulds and shapes the clouds in the sky anyway, into cats, dogs and even a rocket, just so Jaejoong could find more resemblances and flail excitedly in the cab.
-
The ride ends all too soon, and before Changmin realizes it, they're already outside the news station. In between Jaejoong's incessant babbles and Changmin's silly grins, Changmin finds himself forgetting why he had shared the cab with Jaejoong in the first place, too enraptured by Jaejoong's personality to care otherwise.
"Five dollars please," the taxi driver intones with a gruff voice.
Changmin hastily reaches for his wallet, only to be beaten by Jaejoong, bills already clutched in his hands.
He lets out a little noise of protest. Jaejoong sticks out his tongue in response.
"You can pay me back some other time" Jaejoong says.
Changmin wants to tell him that maybe there won't be another time, that maybe they were never going to meet again. Instead, he pauses and lets the silence convey his reluctance.
"You believe in fate, don't you?" Jaejoong asks playfully. And that was it.
Changmin clambers out of the taxi reluctantly, wishing that the ride could have been longer. They stand by the sidewalk for awhile after the taxi drives off, eyes connecting intensely, as if they were trying to spill secret desires and wordless thoughts to each other.
Changmin feels as if this moment could last a lifetime.
He breaks the contact first though, body fumbling awkwardly in silence.
"Well, I'll see you then," he finally says, giving a tiny wave and a crinkle of a smile.
"Till we meet again," Jaejoong winks and waves enthusiastically back. Changmin frowns, wondering how Jaejoong can be so optimistic, so sure that fate would draw them back together like the course of day and night.
He wonders why he's believing in fate too.
Shaking his head in resignation, he turns his back on Jaejoong's disappearing figure and strolls into the building, pausing for a moment to look at the smiling clouds and distinct shapes of lollipops and apples he had crafted in the distance.
This time, Changmin reports to work at 8:01a.m, earning odd looks from Yoochun and Junsu, his colleague.
"You're late," Yoochun says, words laced with shock and utter surprise.
Junsu squeaks in indignation, slapping Yoochun hard on the back.
"Ow-" Yoochun protests, eyes flinching in pain. "What was that for?" he says angrily.
"He's only a minute late! You didn't have to make such a fuss!" Junsu replies, gesturing wildly. "And besides, he isn't late."
"But Changmin's never uh- not on time!" Yoochun exclaims.
Just as Junsu was about to retort, Changmin interrupts with a grin on his face.
"It's okay Junsu," Changmin says. "I am sort of late anyway."
Yoochun gapes in shock. Changmin never liked straying from his routine, and would look as if a storm cloud rained on his head if there were any interruptions.
Changmin beams and turns to walk to the studio, leaving Yoochun and Junsu staring at him as if he had sprouted wings.
As Changmin's leather shoes patter silently over the carpeted floor, he smiles brightly at the fluorescent lights in the hallway.
Jaejoong was worth the lost minute, he decides, with a smile on his face.
And tomorrow's going to be another sunny day.
--
iii. in between muted sips
Changmin meets Jaejoong some days later, in the quaint little café (they serve amazing coffee) near his workplace during the morning rush hour. He stumbles precariously across the choppy sea of heels and leather boots, waiting in line for his daily dose of coffee.
Changmin tries not to frown impatiently. The wait was getting rather long, perhaps too long. He glares angrily at the fumbling man in front placing his order. Hurry up! his subconscious yells threateningly, hoping that the man would pick up some sort of angry vibe that could get him to hurry the fuck up. Alas, the man continues to grin sheepishly in helplessness and even starts a conversation with the cashier, much to Changmin's annoyance.
Surely, he must be able to see the horrendously long queue, Changmin thinks irritatedly. Storm clouds loom threateningly in the distance as Changmin's anger rises up a few notches, sending occasional ominous claps of thunder rumbling down.
Thank God I said it was going to rain today, Changmin thinks grimly.
Finally, the man pays for his cup of coffee and hobbles past the queue, eyes seemingly widening in surprise at the sheer number of people simply waiting for a cup of coffee, as if he had never known the queue had existed in the first place; eyebrows simultaneously furrowing in guilt. Changmin notices his messy mop of blonde hair brushing against people and his twinkling eyes gleaming in the muted light. Though the rest of him was covered by the patchwork of various suits and dresses, he feels as if that person is all too familiar.
And then he recognizes.
"Jaejoong!" Changmin shouts, eyes widening in realization.
Jaejoong nearly spills the coffee then, jumping in surprise at hearing his name being called. He swerves around instantaneously, head turning in every direction to locate the source of the voice. Then, he spots Changmin.
"Changmin!" Jaejoong squeals excitedly, his free hand waving enthusiastically.
Changmin grins, heart beating a little too fast, a little too erratically, and signals Jaejoong to an unoccupied table, half-worried about Jaejoong spilling his coffee due to his overtly enthusiastic wave that seems as if it could knock anything over. Anger vanishing like the fog, Changmin hurriedly orders a cup of coffee and makes his way towards Jaejoong, eager to talk to the man again.
"Wait," Jaejoong commands sharply as Changmin sits down, clutching his cup of coffee, ready to take a sip.
"Wha-"
Jaejoong ignores Changmin's bewildered look and dumps his mini backpack on the table, burying his head inside while his arms grope desperately for something inside. Changmin raises an eyebrow, but questions no further.
Jaejoong emerges with a bottle full of orange syrup. Honey, Changmin concludes. He hastily grabs a spoon and scoops a dollop of honey onto it, before plopping it inside Changmin's coffee.
Changmin eyes widen in shock. What on earth is Jaejoong planning on doing?
Jaejoong stirs the coffee as if he was on a mission, lips sticking out in concentration. Changmin unconsciously grins when he sees Jaejoong's expression. Finally, after tasting a sip, he smiles in satisfaction and pushes the coffee cup towards Changmin.
"Taste it," Jaejoong demands.
Changmin frowns in reluctance, but nonetheless raises the cup up for a sip. Changmin gasps in shock as he takes the first sip.
The coffee's rich, fragrant essence empowers and fills Changmin's senses, while its original bitterness complemented with the honey's sweetness and texture.
It tasted like heaven, he thinks.
"You're a genius," Changmin finally says in awe, now chugging down the coffee in huge gulps.
Jaejoong giggles at Changmin and pets his hair, raising his cup to take a sip of his coffee as well.
"Wait!" Changmin says, laughing delightedly. He rips out a packet of cream and pours it over Jaejoong's coffee ever so slowly, while tucking his other hand in his pocket, secretly controlling the flow of the cream.
Jaejoong's mouth opens in shock when he sees what Changmin had painted with the cream, bursting out into giggles after he sees Changmin's satisfied expression.
"Not going to drink it?" Changmin asks quizzically when he sees Jaejoong carefully setting his coffee aside.
Jaejoong grins, cheeks flushed a bright pink in shade. "I will. After I properly greet you." He leans forward and suddenly Changmin feels as if they are so close, so easy for Jaejoong to close the gap and press his rosy lips against...
Changmin freezes. What was he thinking? And was Jaejoong thinking the exact same thing?
He can feel Jaejoong's breaths now, coming out in short puffs; smelling like cinnamon and spear-mint and random whiffs of spices blended together. Changmin brain temporarily shuts down, lips parting in anticipation. Jaejoong leans closer.
Changmin does a sharp intake of breath, while Jaejoong breathes into his lips, pushing both of them closer and closer and closer together-
-and poked his cheek.
Chamgmin splutters, "Hey!"
"Were you hoping for more?" Jaejoong stares into Changmin's eyes, lips curling to a playful smirk. Changmin flushes and stutters in shock.
"And that's why I believe in fate," Jaejoong eventually hums pleasantly into Changmin's ear as Changmin regains himself.
Changmin laughs, cheeks tinged bright crimson red, blushing like a girl to her first crush.
"Yeah," Changmin finally manages, "That's why I believe in fate too."
Changmin takes a last look at the creamy heart he made, mismatched eyes crinkling up in happiness, and continues with his conversation with Jaejoong.
Lunch hour be damned, Changmin thinks as he sees Jaejoong through the unfurling steam rising from the coffee. It wouldn't hurt to be a little late.
The heart dissipates in Jaejoong's coffee in between the two companion's stories and silent giggles, mixing the cream with coffee - whites blending into the browns - as if they were always meant to be.
iv. not too late to try again
Changmin is seething.
Damn Yoochun, Changmin thinks grimly.
He simmers quietly in his seat, inside a classy and over-hyped restaurant at the nearby hotel, mentally cursing a certain Park Yoochun, throwing imaginary darts and forks at his face.
Apparently Yoochun had an "important appointment" with someone that he "couldn't miss", but had unfortunately booked a table with the restaurant beforehand. You see, Yoochun's a food critic, and it would have been bad for Yoochun's reputation if he didn't show up. So Yoochun begs Changmin to "go out and experience the delectable cuisine the restaurant has to offer", defensively stating that he would write the article from a "commoner's point of view", much to Changmin's indignation.
So Changmin finds himself with an overly-priced menu, unsure of what to do or what to order, just because he was too much of a best friend for Park Yoochun.
"If Yoochun doesn't thank me for this..." Changmin mutters angrily.
Order a little bit of everything they have," Yoochun's voice reverberates in Changmin's head wisely. Changmin stares stupidly at the menu, unable to comprehend the convoluted French characters.
Changmin shifts his focus off the menu and stares at the waiter that looks up to him expectantly, as if he's supposed to formulate an intelligent request.
(Apart from begging Changmin to take his place, Yoochun conveniently forgets to mention that he wouldn't be around to the restaurant's staff, so Changmin finds himself being mistaken for Yoochun all night.)
"Uh," Changmin says awkwardly. "I'll have this," he randomly jabs to words in the menu, "and this and this and maybe this."
The waiter blinks in shock, amazed at the amount of food Changmin had ordered, then hastily jotting it down in his notepad.
The food comes minutes later, much to Changmin's surprise at the restaurant's efficiency. He tucks in, taste buds tingling in delight over the spectrum of flavours that oozed out of the meats with sauces that mingled tastefully in his mouth.
Changmin had never tasted something so amazing his entire life.
Changmin devours the bed of vegetables and closes his eyes in ecstasy as he feels the slice of fish melting in his mouth. After wiping the plate clean, he moves in to dessert, chomping on the tropical fruits and moans appreciatively as he spoons a scoop of ice-cream into his mouth.
Always remember to give the chef your compliments if you like the food," Yoochun's voice rings out again. Changmin smiles appreciatively as he finishes his last spoonful, beckoning the waiter over, who approaches Changmin cautiously, as if he was bracing himself for a reprimand.
"The food is amazing," Changmin smiles gracefully. The waiter lets out a sigh of relief and beams back. "Please give my compliments to the chef," Changmin adds.
The waiter's smile blows up to a full grin and nods fervently. "I'm glad you enjoyed the meal, Mr. Park."
Changmin wishes he could correct the waiter - no he's not Mr. Park, and never will be - but settles for a small polite smile instead. He rests against his chair, soaking up to the soothing ambience and background music.
Changmin doesn't see a chef approaching him with a smile on his face, and instead closes his eyes to enjoy the atmosphere.
"Excuse me sir," a voice rang out beside him. Changmin jumps in shock as his eyes spots the white fabric of the person's attire. Chef, Changmin's brain automatically thinks.
"Yes?" Changmin finally says politely.
"Oh," the voice falters. "I heard from the waiter that you enjoyed the food here."
"Yeah, I really did," Changmin unconsciously smiles.
"Thank you so much." the voice returns, stronger now, words filled with sincerity.
"It's nothing, really," Changmin turns his head to face the person, eyes widening in shock as he recognizes the tuft of blonde hair poking out from the chef's hat.
"Jaejoong," Changmin says, eyes blinking in disbelief.
"Jaejoong!" Jaejoong exclaims. "Uh, I mean, Changmin! Changmin, Changmin, oh my gosh - it's really you!"
"You're a chef?"
"Yeah. And you're a food critic?"
"Of course not," Changmin smirks amusedly. "I'm just taking the place of my very good friend, though I think I'm not supposed to tell you that."
Jaejoong laughs beautifully, hands automatically moving to cover his laugh. Changmin finds his heart beating a little faster than normal. "It's okay," Jaejoong says. "So, what do you really work as?" he asks.
"I'm a weatherman."
"Really?" Jaejoong's eyes widen in amusement.
"The best," Changmin says smugly.
"I wouldn't think any less," Jaejoong laughs. "I guess this really must be fate then," he adds.
Changmin grins so wide he thinks his cheeks might crack. "Yeah, I guess it really must be fate."
"So, you really like the food?" Jaejoong asks teasingly.
"Of course," Changmin chuckles. "I think I'm falling in love with anything you cook."
Jaejoong giggles at the response. "Well, I guess I have to cook more often for you then."
"Is that an offer?"
"Depends on how you want to look at it." Jaejoong winks and waves as he bids Changmin goodbye, strolling back into the kitchen.
Changmin is left with a silly grin on his face as he thinks about Jaejoong's offer. Surely, this only means that he's going to be seeing more and more of Jaejoong - something that Changmin absolutely didn't mind the least, at all. In fact, Changmin actually looks forward to it. To taste Jaejoong's marvelous cooking, to hear Jaejoong's laughter, to just feel his presence, Changmin realizes, is already something he can't do without.
-And then it hits him, he doesn't have anything to contact Jaejoong with.
Screw fate, Changmin thinks. Time to take things to his own hands.
-
"Yo Jae!" a waiter shouts beyond the roar of fires and orders in the kitchen.
Jaejoong turns and spots the waiter, arms simultaneously handling the wok. "Yes, Kangin?"
"A customer asked, no, pleaded me to pass this to you," Kangin hands Jaejoong a folded napkin.
Jaejoong rolls his eyes. Not another secret admirer, he thinks in dismay. Kangin watches in amusement as he sees Jaejoong's ever-changing expression when he contemplates.
Jaejoong opens the napkin anyway, just in case, he thinks. He reads the messy scrawl with a squint, then breaks out into a full-blown grin after he had finished, much to Kangin's surprise. Jaejoong carefully folds the napkin and slowly tucks it into his pocket, cautious not to get any stains on it.
0800-123-xxxx-xxxx
your very own pocketful of sunshine :), ♥
He secretly ditches his position in the kitchen and skitters into the changing room, hurriedly fishing out his phone and keying in the number with a grin on his face.
For the contact name, he writes Changmin♥♥♥, deliberately pressing little pixel hearts beside the name as he feels a dash of sunshine streaking through his freezing heart.
---
v. before the rain clouds
Changmin receives a tiny little text from Jaejoong hours later when he gets ready for bed, all tucked under his thick blanket and fluffy pillows. He scowls at first, thinking that it was probably Yoochun with yet another random message to fulfill his daily quota of his Operation: Piss The Hell Out Of Changmin, or just Operation Piss for short. (Yoochun argues that the name sounds cool, Changmin disagrees.) Then, he sees an unknown number, and scowls even harder.
His scowl immediately vanishes when he sees Jaejoong's name at the end of the message though, replaced by a huge smile that mismatches his eyes.
Changmin unconsciously lets out a tiny giggle when he reads Jaejoong's message, fingers hastily skittering over the number pad, saving the contact number and typing out his reply.
Is tomorrow going to be sunny? x Jae♥
Changmin recalls Jaejoong saying that he hated rain while his face frowned in distaste and lips curling to an unsatisfied pout. Changmin tries to stop giggling like a deranged five-year-old when he punches out a reply, but fails - terribly.
Only if you want it to be :)
Changmin goes to sleep clutching his phone close to his heart, and has fitful dreams of Jaejoong's smile and pancakes for breakfast. He makes it a point to bring sunshine to Seoul for the whole of tomorrow.
-
The next day, Changmin finds himself sitting in his office and staring at the white-washed walls. Changmin scowls - the only day where he wants to talk to Yoochun, he decides to ditch him for Junsu. He tries passing time by twiddling with his thumbs and secretly squiggling words in the sky and prodding the clouds to play tag; the distractions all fail though.
Changmin finally reaches the state where he thinks screw social etiquette and texts Jaejoong. Yoochun always tells him that there's a three-day grace period if he wants to contact someone, but Changmin thinks he can make an exception for Jaejoong - just because.
I'm bored. :(
It's sunny! ^^
Oh, uhm, I mean, need some form of entertainment?
Very much.
Go...watch tv?
I'm at work.
Exactly. Unless you're telling me the news station doesn't have television.
But I'm hungry too.
After Changmin pushes the send button, he calls up another new message and hastily sends that as well.
...Does your offer still stand? Because I think I really need a bowl of ramen right now :(
Changmin crosses his fingers.
You idiot. I'm working too. Unless you can miraculously drag me out of the kitchen, then yes, my offer does stand.
A slight period of silence.
...Give me fifteen minutes.
Changmin blinks. He sighs, concluding that Jaejoong must indeed have his hands full in the ever-bustling kitchen. Besides, he notes, with the number of customers his restaurant receives, Changmin frankly isn't surprised if Jaejoong had to work twice as hard every day. His heart lets out a twinge of guilt, eyebrows furrowing in distaste at taking up Jaejoong's time. What if Jaejoong didn't want to talk to him anymore, or what if Jaejoong was angry, or what if-
"Yo Min, you've got mail!" Yoochun abruptly barges into his work desk, snapping Changmin out of his reverie.
"Mail?" Changmin quirks an eyebrow.
"Yeah, it's with the dude with the weird funky hair who works at the lobby," Yoochun says.
"You mean Heechul," Changmin says dryly.
"Who knows," Yoochun shrugs.
"Oh, and by the way," Yoochun adds. "I didn't know you loved the food at Four Seasons so much, so I guess it was a right choice asking you to replace me, huh?" Yoochun chuckles smugly.
Changmin is out of his office in a flash.
He makes it to the lobby in record speed and very nearly rudely snatches his package from Heechul, who had stared at him as if he went insane. Changmin tilts his head; curious, when he re-enters the elevator and does nothing but stare at Jaejoong's gift, wondering what on earth Jaejoong had sent him.
When Changmin reaches his office and deems it Yoochun-free, he promptly unwraps the cloth binding the box, and finds himself face to face with a helpful serving of ramen.
Changmin tries not to let a silly grin show on his face when he sees Yoochun peeking from a potted plant, lest he gets badgered with onslaughts of questions from Yoochun filled with suggestive comments. He hastily snaps open the wooden chopsticks and digs in, muffling his giggle.
The ramen tastes like love, love and love, with a little smidgen of Jaejoong inside. Changmin had never tasted ramen so delicious.
Changmin hurriedly texts a Thank You, :) :) ♥♥♥, filled with pixel smileys and hearts galore. He reciprocates by making the sun shine a little brighter, and pours sunshine down on the remaining week.
-
(Jaejoong doesn't tell Changmin that he secretly keeps his phone inside his pocket when wearing his chef outfit - though he wasn't really supposed to - so that he can reply at a reasonably faster speed.
When Jaejoong calls Changmin an idiot, he wonders if he's the idiot - ignoring the impatient hungry customers and dashing across the streets just to deliver the bowl of ramen to Changmin.
He concludes that maybe he's just an idiot for Changmin alone.)
-
So days pass by, and Jaejoong secretly flicks on the television whenever he finds time to breathe just for a small chance that he can catch Changmin on his widescreen. He never succeeds though, due to his busy schedules that conflict with the times Changmin goes on air, so Jaejoong settles for the second best - texting Changmin and hearing Changmin's voice over a smaller screen, but nonetheless it was still Changmin, so Jaejoong's fine with that.
Jaejoong learns about Changmin's voracious eating habits, and gets a little taste of Changmin's flawless sarcasm. Jaejoong finds himself sending Changmin little packed lunches every other day too - random bites of his newly invented recipes, or simply just whatever he felt like offering the taller man.
(Changmin once chided Jaejoong about the frequent takeaways he finds in his office, claiming that they made him feel guilty, but Jaejoong had just laughed it off - he was more than willing to feed Changmin's ever growling stomach.)
He notices his rising phone bill too, as he now spends most of his free time texting or calling Changmin - chattering into the late nights and early mornings, talking about everything of nothing. Somehow, Jaejoong finds that he doesn't really care about his phone bills anymore.
-
"Minnieeeeee," Jaejoong whines during one of the late autumn nights.
A crackle of static resounds through Jaejoong's ears as Changmin sighs through the phone. "What happened, Jae?"
Jaejoong refuses to grin like an idiot when he hears Changmin calling him by his nickname, and settles for a slight giggle instead. "My new creme brulee doesn't taste nice!"
"The one you sent me on Tuesday?"
"No," Jaejoong chuckles. "I made a new one."
"Why?"
"Don't know, felt like it," Jaejoong shrugs. "...I'm sleepy," he adds.
"Ah, sleep?" Changmin says, a little muffled, his words drowned out at the end by squeals. "Hang on a second," Changmin finally says.
"Yoochun, " Jaejoong hears Changmin yell from the phone. "Would you please get down from my bed, before I'm forced to send a lightning bolt through your head."
"NOOOOOOOOOO," Jaejoong hears a scream, concluding that it was probably Yoochun's.
"Yoochun, do not, I repeat, do not scream into my ears." Changmin's calm voice rings out. Then, to Jaejoong, he mutters apologetically, "Sorry about that. You know how best friends are like."
Jaejoong laughs. "I understand."
"Hang on a sec," Changmin says again, and before Jaejoong could reply, he hears a slight whine followed by the pattering of footsteps across the floor through the line and a firm slam of the door.
"Saved at last," Changmin sighs in relief.
Jaejoong giggles.
"So," Changmin says. "Tell me about that creme brulee of yours."
And Jaejoong always, always obliges.
-
Jaejoong often talks about Changmin to Yunho too, his best friend who owns the flower shop three blocks away from his hotel, where the roses always seem to be in stock.
Yunho often frowned at Jaejoong, while his hands clutched on a fresh bouquet of flowers.
"I hope you know what you're getting into," Yunho would say. "You sound a lot like you're in love."
And Jaejoong always laughed it off. "I'm not in love," he would state firmly. "I thought we established the fact that I'm never going to fall in love again, especially after that"
"Just don't get hurt again, okay?" Yunho would then say uneasily.
And somehow the atmosphere would become a little awkward, as Yunho would then shrug and offer him a lily to tuck in between his pockets and a little less than a mega-watt smile, while Jaejoong's face would contort a little and his heart would scream out 'I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love,' though his mind always pushed such thoughts away and filled his brain with repeated chants of 'I'm not in love, I'm not in love, I'm not in love.', convincing him otherwise.
Jaejoong would always accept the lily gratefully afterwards, and everything resumes back to normal again, though he leaves a little more troubled and a little more uncertain every time.
-
Jaejoong introduces Changmin to Yunho when Changmin calls him one day to ask for advice on flowers for Mother's Day. Yunho's eyes widen when he hears the tinkling of the bell, only to be met with a grinning Jaejoong accompanied by a stumbling taller man with mussed up hair and adorably huge puppy-like eyes.
Yunho audibly gulps.
"Yunho, Changmin," Jaejoong says, dragging the two of them closer to each other, forcibly grabbing their hands. "Changmin, Yunho."
"Okay?" Jaejoong asks, now forcing them into a handshake. "Now be good friends."
Yunho shrugs helplessly at Changmin, who tries his best to stifle a laugh, both too used to Jaejoong's sudden outburts.
"So," Yunho finally says. "What can I do for you, Changmin?"
"He needs flowers," Jaejoong cuts in before Changmin has a chance to open his mouth. "For his mother," he adds.
Changmin grins sheepishly and flails his hands helplessly, staring at the myriad of flowers as if they were from another universe. Jaejoong briefly meets his eyes, and slightly stretches his hand to pet Changmin's hair soothingly.
(Changmin can create rain or shine, he can name any type of cloud he sees in the sky, but there's one thing Changmin can't do - Changmin can't differentiate flowers to save his life.)
Yunho raises an eyebrow at Jaejoong's obvious display of affection, but chooses to ignore it anyway. He skillfully swerves around and picks a few stalks of different flowers before arranging them, and within minutes, presents a beautiful bouquet to Changmin, who was now slowly melting into Jaejoong's touch with a content smile.
"Wow," Changmin breathes, hands slowly grasping on the bouquet. "It's beautiful."
Yunho beams.
"I told you that you didn't have to worry," Jaejoong says smugly. "After all, Yunho's the best florist ever."
Changmin pouts. "How would I know!" he says defensively.
Jaejoong sticks out his tongue. "You should," he says. "Because I'm awesome like that."
"No, not really," Changmin huffs in protest, mouth unconsciously creasing into a smile.
"Hey!" Jaejoong says indignantly. "Who was the one that made you lunch almost everyday!"
Changmin splutters. "B-b-but."
Jaejoong gives a smug smile.
Changmin sighs in resignation. "Fine. You're awesome."
And Jaejoong couldn't help but beam and ruffle Changmin's hair affectionately, pulling Changmin closer to him until their clothes brush, completely unaware of Changmin's furious blushes.
Yunho stares at Jaejoong in shock, and sighs in resignation. Jaejoong doesn't know it, but he's fallen in too deep.
Stupid Jaejoong, he thinks. Stupid, stupid Jaejoong.
And so when Jaejoong and Changmin leaves his shop with a huge bouquet clutched in their hands, Yunho couldn't help but hurriedly exchange phone numbers with Changmin, promising future contact with the strikingly tall man.
"Be careful," Yunho whispers into Changmin's ear, smiling slightly when he sees Changmin eyes widen in curiosity. Changmin smiles a little at him, taking his warning with a pinch of salt, and saunters out of the flower shop clutching tightly onto Jaejoong's hand and the crumple of the wrapper of the bouquet.
Yunho felt rather sorry for Changmin. He was only setting himself up for heartbreak.
Stupid Jaejoong, he thinks again. Stupid, stupid Jaejoong.
-
Changmin drags Jaejoong over to his workplace to meet Yoochun. Only because he couldn't stand Yoochun pestering him about his 'new best friend' (i.e Jaejoong) any longer. So he brings Jaejoong to his comfy little office after persuading him to take a break from work, enticing him with an exclusive invite to see Changmin while recording.
"So this is your new best friend?" Yoochun says with a touch of hysteria, eyebrows raised simultaneously.
"Uh-" Jaejoong says hesitantly.
"Say no more!" Yoochun cries out dramatically, then turns to Changmin. "Farewell, Minnie. This is goodbye." He sniffs and saunters away, only to be stopped by an angry looking Junsu.
Junsu whacks Yoochun across the shoulder. Hard.
"Hey!" Yoochun says, wincing in pain.
"You're an idiot!" Junsu squeaks angrily. "Don't scare Minnie's friend the first time you meet him!"
"B-B-But!"
Changmin shrugs helplessly at Jaejoong, while giving him a sheepish smile. Inwardly, he curses at Yoochun. He had known something would happen once he brought Jaejoong over.
"Uh," Jaejoong says hesitantly. "I'm Jaejoong? And Changmin did mention that you're his best friend, so I don't think-"
"He did?!" Yoochun exclaims delightfully.
"Hey I-" Changmin splutters.
"Yeah, he did," Jaejoong nods.
"I like you already," Yoochun says immediately. Then, he turns to Changmin. "Minnie, for once, I approve."
Changmin sighs in resignation, hands now brought up to rub his temples. He stares helplessly as Junsu proceeds to fuss over Jaejoong, while Yoochun conveniently decided to bring up some of his most embarrassing moments. Changmin should have felt offended, but then he sees Jaejoong's delightful peals of laughter after Yoochun tells the stories, and decides to remain quiet.
-
Changmin doesn't know when, but he thinks that's maybe the time where his heart decides to go against his mind and fall for Jaejoong.
No one said falling in love was going to be hard, but when Changmin falls, Changmin falls hard.
Changmin used to think people fall in love in romantic places like sunset walks at beaches or in between a bouquet of flowers and fancy dinners, but as he finds himself in relationships, he knows that the falling comes at the most unexpected times.
Though Changmin had never imagined himself falling in love at his workplace, at a time when his best friend and his love were discussing about recipes and which restaurant served the best cheesecake. But he falls anyway, brain momentarily shutting down at the realization and eyes blinking rapidly in shock, shock and simply the utter knowing of it.
His heart doesn't race a hundred miles per second like most books say, nor does his cheeks turn a furious red. He doesn't gape in realization, neither does he exclaim and start babbling non-stop to his love. Instead, Changmin drowns himself in his reverie and switches off to the entire world, reveling in the fact that all Jaejoong seemed to radiate at the moment was love, love and love.
"...angmin?" Changmin hears a voice echoing at the back of his mind, then his brain wakes up and his eyes begin focusing again, only to be met with a concerned Jaejoong and a smug looking Yoochun. "Changmin?"
"Mmmm, yeah?" Changmin says blearily.
"Are you all right?" Jaejoong says worriedly.
Changmin smiles a little wider than usual, and shrugs off Jaejoong's worries in a flash.
"Never been better," he says, heart finally starting to beat just a little faster than normal.
At least, that's what he tries to convince himself anyway.
-
Later, when Jaejoong leaves, Changmin finds himself face to face with a smug looking Yoochun in the corridors.
"Someone seems like he's in love," Yoochun whistles.
Changmin huffs, but doesn't bother to deny it either, cheeks blushing a dozen shades of red.
Yoochun grins at him smugly. "So I assume that means sunshine for the entire week then?"
"Month," Changmin immediately corrects Yoochun, before realizing his mistake and bracing himself for the incoming barrage of teasing.
"Well," Yoochun says calmly, to Changmin's surprise. "Better tell my Su to pack his bags then."
Changmin raises an eyebrow. "What for?"
"Naturally," Yoochun says with a hint of a grumble. "You're always making it rain, rain and sending nothing but bloody rain down on Seoul."
"So this time," he lets out a little whoop of joy. "We're obviously going to the beach."
Changmin huffs in resignation. "Do whatever you want, just... don't invite me in the middle of the night to go fishing ever again."
Yoochun pouts. "At least it was fun!" he says defensively. Changmin stares at him, unimpressed.
"Anyway, just for curiosity's sake," he adds after a little drift of silence. "How bad has it gotten?"
"Bad," Changmin says solemnly after a moment of contemplation. "Worser than any other person I've ever dated," he later adds.
"Wow," Yoochun eventually whistles. "You fell for him that badly?"
"You have no idea, Chun," Changmin shakes his head. "You have no idea at all."
---
vi. only one chance in love
Changmin has never been an insecure or a fumbling person by nature, preferring to take things head on, consequences be damned. So Changmin doesn't really think much about the implications or the results when he decides to confess to Jaejoong on a Monday morning, where he makes the sun shine inexplicably brighter.
Changmin doesn't like clichés, so he doesn't really bother to take Jaejoong to an amusement park where he'll confess on the highest point of the ferris wheel, nor does he bother to carry on with all the formalities on dates in high class restaurants. (Jaejoong could most probably cook better anyway.) Instead, he chooses to report to work just like any other day at 8.00a.m and goes on the weather news with his usual mismatched eyes and unerring predictions.
Changmin feels the nervousness finally creeping up when he sees Jaejoong's tendrils of blonde hair getting carried away by the soft wind and Jaejoong's huge starry eyes and unbelievable lips and he thinks, this is why i fell in love in the first place.
He sees Jaejoong's bright eyes catching the light of the afternoon's sun and a curious tilt on his face and falls harder than he thinks he possibly could, heart plunging a little less 550 miles per hour. I can do this, he thinks as he fumbles on the threads of his suit and chews nervously on his lips.
"Changmin," Jaejoong's voice comes out soft and hesitant but concerned all the same.
And then Changmin decides to hell with logic and throws whatever sense of reason he has out of the window, and simply lets his feelings carry him forward.
"I like you," he blurts out, mind unconsciously casting a backdrop of fluffy clouds and rainbows in the sky, all still in anticipation for Jaejoong's reply.
"I like you too!" Jaejoong says all too cheerily for Changmin to actually take him seriously.
"No Jae, not the like like," Changmin amends quietly. "As in I really really like- oh Jae, I love you."
Jaejoong's eyes widen in shock and realization and all emotions in between. He gapes and hurriedly covers his mouth in shock.
"Oh no. No, no, no, no, no," Jaejoong chants in horror.
"You can't do this to me," his voice shook. "You can't, Min-ah."
"It''s not that I don't like you in that way," Jaejoong continues, his every word piercing little daggers straight into Changmin's heart. "It's just that I really can't-"
"You don't have to console me, Jaejoong," Changmin whispers, ignoring the way Jaejoong winces when hearing his name called out in detached formality. "It's your choice."
Jaejoong falters, heart pounding so heavily in his chest he could feel the pinch of guilt wheedling through. "But-" he says, then sighs in resignation. "I''m sorry, Min-ah."
Jaejoong casts his pained eyes towards Changmin, tears peeking out from the corners. It made Changmin almost fall a little deeper with him, even though he knows he's not supposed to.
Jaejoong turns his back away, as if it gave him a little more courage, and walks away a little quicker than normal, leaving Changmin standing stupidly on the grassy fields as the rainbows vanished and dark clouds approached threateningly.
Well, that was a lot less painful that I thought, Changmin thinks after a long stall in his mind. He makes his way back to the news station, mind in an inexplicable daze.
Somewhere in between his conscious state, Changmin hears a faint choke followed by loud heart-wrenching sobs coming from someone, somewhere. He idly wonders who on earth it could possibly be, then stops in his tracks and lets the loss of Jaejoong finally, finally sink in, and he finally feels the rush of pain and realizes - Oh, that's me.
-
Changmin makes it rain for the whole of next week, and swears to let it pour in Seoul weeks after. He tries not to think about how Jaejoong hated the rain.
(on to part 2.)
Pairing: Jaemin, Yoosu (if you squint), Yunjae!Friendship, Yoomin!Friendship
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 12,940w
Genre: Romance, Fluff, Supernatural, Drama, Angst
Summary: Changmin is a weatherman with an unusual ability. Jaejoong is an award-winning chef that's not as cheerful as he seems. Together, they meet, cook up a storm and slip sunshine into each other's little ovens in life.
loosely inspired by loveclouds's fic always the right forecast, where changmin can control the weather ♥
my oven full of sunshine;
weatherman meets award-winning chef, they cook up a storm, fall in love, and share kisses during the in-betweens.
---
i. running to the sun
Changmin has always been good at routines, never wasting a single second of time, never missing the bus, and always, always, getting to work at exactly 8:00a.m sharp every single day. He thinks it's to balance out the seemingly fickle nature of his job, where nature plays a huge role in determining his fate: either getting a promotion, or being thrown a few floors down the social skyscraper.
Yes, Changmin is a weatherman, and a pretty damn good one at that. Apparently, his success rate for predicting rain or shine is an astounding 99.9%, with the unfortunate 0.1% lost to the day Changmin split coffee on his table and in a fit of anger and childishness, had decided to hurl rain down on Seoul instead of glorious sunshine.
No one could comprehend how Changmin can easily guess tomorrow's fog, or the following day's meteor showers, blindfolded - such occurrences were too few and far between to categorize his predictions as 'coincidences' - but you see, Changmin has a knack for doing exactly just that.
Besides, Changmin can control the weather after all.
He didn't realize his unusual powers until a dare with Yoochun when they were twelve-ish, where he parts the cloudy skies in a moment of desperation for some form of distraction. Yoochun's eyes had widened when he saw the previously hidden sun shining as clear as day, bathing them in a sea of gold. Then, to Changmin's reluctance and Yoochun's amazing persuasion skills, Changmin manages to paint a picture of hearts and toy aeroplanes with nothing but the fluffy clouds as paint and the sky as his canvas.
So Changmin tries to make the best out of his ability, majoring in meteorology and everything in between, before going with the flow of nature and ending up as a weatherman for an international news station near the corner of Cherry Street.
(He occasionally helps Yoochun too, drawing 'I love you's' in the sky when Yoochun goes out on dates, and making sure the clouds were extra fluffy.)
Changmin is content with his work - the job pays well, maybe a little too well for a weatherman, but that's mostly because Changmin's probably the best weatherman in the world with his astounding success rate.
(And it was partly also to prevent Changmin from being tempted by one of the too many offers he receives almost every day from meteorology stations and whatnot. But Changmin didn't have to tell them that he's not going anywhere. He can use the extra pay he gets.)
Apart from his all-time record for the number of days he successfully predicts the weather, Changmin also holds the record for his perfect streak of punctuality-
-though the said record is currently being threatened as Changmin's alarm clock had refused to ring when dawn cracked, sending Changmin now sprinting down his apartment - hair flustered and breath smelling like whiffs of hastily made cappuccino - clutching onto his suitcase while simultaneously flapping his right arm, frantically trying to hail a cab. It was supposed to be a bright and cheery Monday morning with an occasional wisp of cloud drifting in the sky, like how Changmin had predicted, but this - Changmin thinks - is far from bright and cheery.
Changmin curses in between panting breaths as he successfully manages to nearly trip over the third consecutive sidewalk. He fumes. He fumes so bad that he literally radiates angry vibes from his pores, sending people of a ten-metre radius from him reeling in discomfort. His suit brushes angrily against his thighs; eyes searching frantically for any sign of a grey vehicle on the otherwise busy road.
"Damn it, goddamn it!" Changmin mutters furiously when the cabs pass him mockingly, one after the other - every one of them already carrying passengers.
Changmin can't afford to be late. He can't be late. Shim Changmin is never late for work. Ever.
So when a grey cab stops by the opposite sidewalk, with a person reaching out for the door handle, ready to get in, Changmin doesn't stop to rationalize - Changmin doesn't even think - and he sprints across the street, uncaring of the angry honks sent towards him, yanks open the other door and flings himself inside the cab.
The man's eyes widens in shock when he sees Changmin, a total stranger, diving into the cab he had hailed, with huge pleading eyes and his mop of chestnut-brown hair gleaming breathtakingly in the sunlight. He tries not to let his breath hitch.
"Please, oh god, please please please let me share the cab with you. I'm in a rush you see, and I really really need to get to work on time - we'll split the cost, or I can even pay the full cost, and treat you to lunch - if that's not enough. Or, or-" Changmin babbles pleadingly, palms pressed together as a form of pleading and his warm brown eyes widening desperately.
"Sure," the man replies easily, soft pink lips curling into a smile.
Changmin gapes in shock.
"I mean - I'm not in much of a hurry anyway - we can always drop you off first," he chuckles at Changmin's incredulous expression as he speaks. "Where are you heading to?"
"O! News," Changmin replies immediately.
"Really?" the man asks; pleasantly surprised. "That's good then - I'm heading near there too - we can drop off together then," he smiles good-naturedly at Changmin, doe-like eyes twinkling merrily in the light.
Changmin's savior - or so Changmin hails - then politely tells the driver their destination. The driver gives a curt nod, before driving off. Satisfied, the man turns to face Changmin again.
"Kim Jaejoong," he says cheerfully, extending his hand.
Changmin easily returns the smile and seals the handshake, heart feeling inexplicably warm. "Shim Changmin," he replies.
A solitary cloud drifts serenely in the sky as the two sit in companionable silence. Changmin makes an effort to give it some extra fluff, molding the cloud into a wispy heart. The cloud bobs happily back in response.
And that's how Changmin meets Jaejoong, on that beautiful Monday morning where everything had seemed to go wrong.
But then, Changmin thinks as his blonde-haired companion starts to blabber on about missing coffee cups and traffic in Seoul, that finally - finally something is going right.
---
ii. a spoonful of sugar
Changmin finds Jaejoong something like a best friend he had never known, exchanging stories with laughter and silent giggles punctuating every sentence. There is never a lull in the conversation, and Changmin thinks he's never felt so comfortable, so himself when he speaks to others than to Jaejoong.
They talk about everything and anything under the sun, of cloudy days (Jaejoong hates it when it rains), of cosmic forces (love is the greatest force of them all, Jaejoong wisely says), and celestial bodies suspended, frozen in time, in the vast expanse of outer space.
"Cassiopeia," Jaejoong tells him, eyes clouded with dreams and twinkling stars. "That's the constellation I fell in love with."
Changmin giggles at Jaejoong's description, imagining hearts traced over Jaejoong's eyes and blush-tinted cheeks when he sees Cassiopeia in a starry night, he wants to tell Jaejoong about how hilarious he sounds, or how his eyes reflect the light so beautifully Changmin thinks he might be seeing stars in them too.
"How does it look like?" Changmin settles for a harmless question instead.
Jaejoong grins excitedly like a five-year-old to candy. Changmin tries not to laugh.
"Do the peace sign!" Jaejoong demands.
Changmin blinks in confusion, swallowing his outburst when he sees Jaejoong's overly excited look, and compiles to doing so, sticking out his two fingers awkwardly, his skin tingling from the cold blast of wind from the air-conditioner.
Jaejoong beams encouragingly, and spreads out his fingers like how Changmin did. He holds it up to the sun, as if to capture the burning orb between his fingers, before bringing it down to connect them with Changmin's fingers. The connection seems as if it closes a circuit Changmin never knew existed in the first place, and suddenly Changmin feels as if electricity is coursing through his entire body; an inexplicable warmth taking over his mind.
"See, it forms a W," Jaejoong breathes. "Cassiopeia."
They pass a traffic light turning from amber to green, meshing together with the reds and whites of car lights, momentarily blinding Changmin's train of thought, leaving him to gulp moisture down his parched throat and stare into Jaejoong's starry eyes.
Changmin forces himself not to think about Jaejoong's fingers, not to think about how their fingers just seem to fit.
-
"Do you believe in fate?" Jaejoong suddenly asks when they hit a red light.
Changmin blinks once, twice. Changmin considers himself as a realist - never an idealist, never a dreamer. He prefers taking a practical approach in any situation; mind governed by logic instead of emotions and wild imaginations.
But then he thinks of his power, thinks of the slight interruption in his routine, and thinks of how it had led to him meeting Jaejoong. His fingers unconsciously twirl about in haphazard circles, mixing the whites of the clouds with the blues of the sky as he ponders.
"Yes," Changmin finally says. "Yes."
Because if this isn't fate, Changmin thinks as he faces a grinning Jaejoong. I don't know what is.
-
The world spins and flickers past fleetingly like panorama shots on Polaroids as the taxi swerves past highways, while Changmin and Jaejoong lay comfortably within, trapped in their own happy bubble.
Changmin learns random things about Jaejoong - the slight curvature of his lips when he thinks deeeply, his liking for anything sweet and cuddly and most of all, he finds out that Jaejoong can act flawlessly like a five-year-old and yet look incredibly mature at the same time.
"Look!" Jaejoong exclaims, finger pointing eagerly at the clouds in the sky. "That cloud looks like an elephant!"
He earns a chuckle from Changmin, and a slight stifle of a laughter from the cab driver; pouting in response.
"What's so funny!" Jaejoong huffs, poking Changmin cheeks in retaliation.
"Hey!" Changmin says, flustered, as he sees Jaejoong incessantly poking his cheeks.
Just as Jaejoong was about to poke Changmin again, he spots another cloud in the distance past the looming skyscrapers and busy traffic.
"Changmin! Changmin!" Jaejoong squeals excitedly. "That cloud looks like you!"
Changmin stares at the cloud, quirking an eyebrow at Jaejoong's frantic gestures. That cloud so did not look like him. He's definitely cuter - And less warped as well, he huffs in indignation. But still, Changmin thinks in wonderment, no adult ever finds time and spots cloud shapes anymore - apart from Jaejoong of course. It was just such a...kid thing to do.
But Changmin secretly moulds and shapes the clouds in the sky anyway, into cats, dogs and even a rocket, just so Jaejoong could find more resemblances and flail excitedly in the cab.
-
The ride ends all too soon, and before Changmin realizes it, they're already outside the news station. In between Jaejoong's incessant babbles and Changmin's silly grins, Changmin finds himself forgetting why he had shared the cab with Jaejoong in the first place, too enraptured by Jaejoong's personality to care otherwise.
"Five dollars please," the taxi driver intones with a gruff voice.
Changmin hastily reaches for his wallet, only to be beaten by Jaejoong, bills already clutched in his hands.
He lets out a little noise of protest. Jaejoong sticks out his tongue in response.
"You can pay me back some other time" Jaejoong says.
Changmin wants to tell him that maybe there won't be another time, that maybe they were never going to meet again. Instead, he pauses and lets the silence convey his reluctance.
"You believe in fate, don't you?" Jaejoong asks playfully. And that was it.
Changmin clambers out of the taxi reluctantly, wishing that the ride could have been longer. They stand by the sidewalk for awhile after the taxi drives off, eyes connecting intensely, as if they were trying to spill secret desires and wordless thoughts to each other.
Changmin feels as if this moment could last a lifetime.
He breaks the contact first though, body fumbling awkwardly in silence.
"Well, I'll see you then," he finally says, giving a tiny wave and a crinkle of a smile.
"Till we meet again," Jaejoong winks and waves enthusiastically back. Changmin frowns, wondering how Jaejoong can be so optimistic, so sure that fate would draw them back together like the course of day and night.
He wonders why he's believing in fate too.
Shaking his head in resignation, he turns his back on Jaejoong's disappearing figure and strolls into the building, pausing for a moment to look at the smiling clouds and distinct shapes of lollipops and apples he had crafted in the distance.
This time, Changmin reports to work at 8:01a.m, earning odd looks from Yoochun and Junsu, his colleague.
"You're late," Yoochun says, words laced with shock and utter surprise.
Junsu squeaks in indignation, slapping Yoochun hard on the back.
"Ow-" Yoochun protests, eyes flinching in pain. "What was that for?" he says angrily.
"He's only a minute late! You didn't have to make such a fuss!" Junsu replies, gesturing wildly. "And besides, he isn't late."
"But Changmin's never uh- not on time!" Yoochun exclaims.
Just as Junsu was about to retort, Changmin interrupts with a grin on his face.
"It's okay Junsu," Changmin says. "I am sort of late anyway."
Yoochun gapes in shock. Changmin never liked straying from his routine, and would look as if a storm cloud rained on his head if there were any interruptions.
Changmin beams and turns to walk to the studio, leaving Yoochun and Junsu staring at him as if he had sprouted wings.
As Changmin's leather shoes patter silently over the carpeted floor, he smiles brightly at the fluorescent lights in the hallway.
Jaejoong was worth the lost minute, he decides, with a smile on his face.
And tomorrow's going to be another sunny day.
--
iii. in between muted sips
Changmin meets Jaejoong some days later, in the quaint little café (they serve amazing coffee) near his workplace during the morning rush hour. He stumbles precariously across the choppy sea of heels and leather boots, waiting in line for his daily dose of coffee.
Changmin tries not to frown impatiently. The wait was getting rather long, perhaps too long. He glares angrily at the fumbling man in front placing his order. Hurry up! his subconscious yells threateningly, hoping that the man would pick up some sort of angry vibe that could get him to hurry the fuck up. Alas, the man continues to grin sheepishly in helplessness and even starts a conversation with the cashier, much to Changmin's annoyance.
Surely, he must be able to see the horrendously long queue, Changmin thinks irritatedly. Storm clouds loom threateningly in the distance as Changmin's anger rises up a few notches, sending occasional ominous claps of thunder rumbling down.
Thank God I said it was going to rain today, Changmin thinks grimly.
Finally, the man pays for his cup of coffee and hobbles past the queue, eyes seemingly widening in surprise at the sheer number of people simply waiting for a cup of coffee, as if he had never known the queue had existed in the first place; eyebrows simultaneously furrowing in guilt. Changmin notices his messy mop of blonde hair brushing against people and his twinkling eyes gleaming in the muted light. Though the rest of him was covered by the patchwork of various suits and dresses, he feels as if that person is all too familiar.
And then he recognizes.
"Jaejoong!" Changmin shouts, eyes widening in realization.
Jaejoong nearly spills the coffee then, jumping in surprise at hearing his name being called. He swerves around instantaneously, head turning in every direction to locate the source of the voice. Then, he spots Changmin.
"Changmin!" Jaejoong squeals excitedly, his free hand waving enthusiastically.
Changmin grins, heart beating a little too fast, a little too erratically, and signals Jaejoong to an unoccupied table, half-worried about Jaejoong spilling his coffee due to his overtly enthusiastic wave that seems as if it could knock anything over. Anger vanishing like the fog, Changmin hurriedly orders a cup of coffee and makes his way towards Jaejoong, eager to talk to the man again.
"Wait," Jaejoong commands sharply as Changmin sits down, clutching his cup of coffee, ready to take a sip.
"Wha-"
Jaejoong ignores Changmin's bewildered look and dumps his mini backpack on the table, burying his head inside while his arms grope desperately for something inside. Changmin raises an eyebrow, but questions no further.
Jaejoong emerges with a bottle full of orange syrup. Honey, Changmin concludes. He hastily grabs a spoon and scoops a dollop of honey onto it, before plopping it inside Changmin's coffee.
Changmin eyes widen in shock. What on earth is Jaejoong planning on doing?
Jaejoong stirs the coffee as if he was on a mission, lips sticking out in concentration. Changmin unconsciously grins when he sees Jaejoong's expression. Finally, after tasting a sip, he smiles in satisfaction and pushes the coffee cup towards Changmin.
"Taste it," Jaejoong demands.
Changmin frowns in reluctance, but nonetheless raises the cup up for a sip. Changmin gasps in shock as he takes the first sip.
The coffee's rich, fragrant essence empowers and fills Changmin's senses, while its original bitterness complemented with the honey's sweetness and texture.
It tasted like heaven, he thinks.
"You're a genius," Changmin finally says in awe, now chugging down the coffee in huge gulps.
Jaejoong giggles at Changmin and pets his hair, raising his cup to take a sip of his coffee as well.
"Wait!" Changmin says, laughing delightedly. He rips out a packet of cream and pours it over Jaejoong's coffee ever so slowly, while tucking his other hand in his pocket, secretly controlling the flow of the cream.
Jaejoong's mouth opens in shock when he sees what Changmin had painted with the cream, bursting out into giggles after he sees Changmin's satisfied expression.
"Not going to drink it?" Changmin asks quizzically when he sees Jaejoong carefully setting his coffee aside.
Jaejoong grins, cheeks flushed a bright pink in shade. "I will. After I properly greet you." He leans forward and suddenly Changmin feels as if they are so close, so easy for Jaejoong to close the gap and press his rosy lips against...
Changmin freezes. What was he thinking? And was Jaejoong thinking the exact same thing?
He can feel Jaejoong's breaths now, coming out in short puffs; smelling like cinnamon and spear-mint and random whiffs of spices blended together. Changmin brain temporarily shuts down, lips parting in anticipation. Jaejoong leans closer.
Changmin does a sharp intake of breath, while Jaejoong breathes into his lips, pushing both of them closer and closer and closer together-
-and poked his cheek.
Chamgmin splutters, "Hey!"
"Were you hoping for more?" Jaejoong stares into Changmin's eyes, lips curling to a playful smirk. Changmin flushes and stutters in shock.
"And that's why I believe in fate," Jaejoong eventually hums pleasantly into Changmin's ear as Changmin regains himself.
Changmin laughs, cheeks tinged bright crimson red, blushing like a girl to her first crush.
"Yeah," Changmin finally manages, "That's why I believe in fate too."
Changmin takes a last look at the creamy heart he made, mismatched eyes crinkling up in happiness, and continues with his conversation with Jaejoong.
Lunch hour be damned, Changmin thinks as he sees Jaejoong through the unfurling steam rising from the coffee. It wouldn't hurt to be a little late.
The heart dissipates in Jaejoong's coffee in between the two companion's stories and silent giggles, mixing the cream with coffee - whites blending into the browns - as if they were always meant to be.
iv. not too late to try again
Changmin is seething.
Damn Yoochun, Changmin thinks grimly.
He simmers quietly in his seat, inside a classy and over-hyped restaurant at the nearby hotel, mentally cursing a certain Park Yoochun, throwing imaginary darts and forks at his face.
Apparently Yoochun had an "important appointment" with someone that he "couldn't miss", but had unfortunately booked a table with the restaurant beforehand. You see, Yoochun's a food critic, and it would have been bad for Yoochun's reputation if he didn't show up. So Yoochun begs Changmin to "go out and experience the delectable cuisine the restaurant has to offer", defensively stating that he would write the article from a "commoner's point of view", much to Changmin's indignation.
So Changmin finds himself with an overly-priced menu, unsure of what to do or what to order, just because he was too much of a best friend for Park Yoochun.
"If Yoochun doesn't thank me for this..." Changmin mutters angrily.
Order a little bit of everything they have," Yoochun's voice reverberates in Changmin's head wisely. Changmin stares stupidly at the menu, unable to comprehend the convoluted French characters.
Changmin shifts his focus off the menu and stares at the waiter that looks up to him expectantly, as if he's supposed to formulate an intelligent request.
(Apart from begging Changmin to take his place, Yoochun conveniently forgets to mention that he wouldn't be around to the restaurant's staff, so Changmin finds himself being mistaken for Yoochun all night.)
"Uh," Changmin says awkwardly. "I'll have this," he randomly jabs to words in the menu, "and this and this and maybe this."
The waiter blinks in shock, amazed at the amount of food Changmin had ordered, then hastily jotting it down in his notepad.
The food comes minutes later, much to Changmin's surprise at the restaurant's efficiency. He tucks in, taste buds tingling in delight over the spectrum of flavours that oozed out of the meats with sauces that mingled tastefully in his mouth.
Changmin had never tasted something so amazing his entire life.
Changmin devours the bed of vegetables and closes his eyes in ecstasy as he feels the slice of fish melting in his mouth. After wiping the plate clean, he moves in to dessert, chomping on the tropical fruits and moans appreciatively as he spoons a scoop of ice-cream into his mouth.
Always remember to give the chef your compliments if you like the food," Yoochun's voice rings out again. Changmin smiles appreciatively as he finishes his last spoonful, beckoning the waiter over, who approaches Changmin cautiously, as if he was bracing himself for a reprimand.
"The food is amazing," Changmin smiles gracefully. The waiter lets out a sigh of relief and beams back. "Please give my compliments to the chef," Changmin adds.
The waiter's smile blows up to a full grin and nods fervently. "I'm glad you enjoyed the meal, Mr. Park."
Changmin wishes he could correct the waiter - no he's not Mr. Park, and never will be - but settles for a small polite smile instead. He rests against his chair, soaking up to the soothing ambience and background music.
Changmin doesn't see a chef approaching him with a smile on his face, and instead closes his eyes to enjoy the atmosphere.
"Excuse me sir," a voice rang out beside him. Changmin jumps in shock as his eyes spots the white fabric of the person's attire. Chef, Changmin's brain automatically thinks.
"Yes?" Changmin finally says politely.
"Oh," the voice falters. "I heard from the waiter that you enjoyed the food here."
"Yeah, I really did," Changmin unconsciously smiles.
"Thank you so much." the voice returns, stronger now, words filled with sincerity.
"It's nothing, really," Changmin turns his head to face the person, eyes widening in shock as he recognizes the tuft of blonde hair poking out from the chef's hat.
"Jaejoong," Changmin says, eyes blinking in disbelief.
"Jaejoong!" Jaejoong exclaims. "Uh, I mean, Changmin! Changmin, Changmin, oh my gosh - it's really you!"
"You're a chef?"
"Yeah. And you're a food critic?"
"Of course not," Changmin smirks amusedly. "I'm just taking the place of my very good friend, though I think I'm not supposed to tell you that."
Jaejoong laughs beautifully, hands automatically moving to cover his laugh. Changmin finds his heart beating a little faster than normal. "It's okay," Jaejoong says. "So, what do you really work as?" he asks.
"I'm a weatherman."
"Really?" Jaejoong's eyes widen in amusement.
"The best," Changmin says smugly.
"I wouldn't think any less," Jaejoong laughs. "I guess this really must be fate then," he adds.
Changmin grins so wide he thinks his cheeks might crack. "Yeah, I guess it really must be fate."
"So, you really like the food?" Jaejoong asks teasingly.
"Of course," Changmin chuckles. "I think I'm falling in love with anything you cook."
Jaejoong giggles at the response. "Well, I guess I have to cook more often for you then."
"Is that an offer?"
"Depends on how you want to look at it." Jaejoong winks and waves as he bids Changmin goodbye, strolling back into the kitchen.
Changmin is left with a silly grin on his face as he thinks about Jaejoong's offer. Surely, this only means that he's going to be seeing more and more of Jaejoong - something that Changmin absolutely didn't mind the least, at all. In fact, Changmin actually looks forward to it. To taste Jaejoong's marvelous cooking, to hear Jaejoong's laughter, to just feel his presence, Changmin realizes, is already something he can't do without.
-And then it hits him, he doesn't have anything to contact Jaejoong with.
Screw fate, Changmin thinks. Time to take things to his own hands.
-
"Yo Jae!" a waiter shouts beyond the roar of fires and orders in the kitchen.
Jaejoong turns and spots the waiter, arms simultaneously handling the wok. "Yes, Kangin?"
"A customer asked, no, pleaded me to pass this to you," Kangin hands Jaejoong a folded napkin.
Jaejoong rolls his eyes. Not another secret admirer, he thinks in dismay. Kangin watches in amusement as he sees Jaejoong's ever-changing expression when he contemplates.
Jaejoong opens the napkin anyway, just in case, he thinks. He reads the messy scrawl with a squint, then breaks out into a full-blown grin after he had finished, much to Kangin's surprise. Jaejoong carefully folds the napkin and slowly tucks it into his pocket, cautious not to get any stains on it.
0800-123-xxxx-xxxx
your very own pocketful of sunshine :), ♥
He secretly ditches his position in the kitchen and skitters into the changing room, hurriedly fishing out his phone and keying in the number with a grin on his face.
For the contact name, he writes Changmin♥♥♥, deliberately pressing little pixel hearts beside the name as he feels a dash of sunshine streaking through his freezing heart.
---
v. before the rain clouds
Changmin receives a tiny little text from Jaejoong hours later when he gets ready for bed, all tucked under his thick blanket and fluffy pillows. He scowls at first, thinking that it was probably Yoochun with yet another random message to fulfill his daily quota of his Operation: Piss The Hell Out Of Changmin, or just Operation Piss for short. (Yoochun argues that the name sounds cool, Changmin disagrees.) Then, he sees an unknown number, and scowls even harder.
His scowl immediately vanishes when he sees Jaejoong's name at the end of the message though, replaced by a huge smile that mismatches his eyes.
Changmin unconsciously lets out a tiny giggle when he reads Jaejoong's message, fingers hastily skittering over the number pad, saving the contact number and typing out his reply.
Is tomorrow going to be sunny? x Jae♥
Changmin recalls Jaejoong saying that he hated rain while his face frowned in distaste and lips curling to an unsatisfied pout. Changmin tries to stop giggling like a deranged five-year-old when he punches out a reply, but fails - terribly.
Only if you want it to be :)
Changmin goes to sleep clutching his phone close to his heart, and has fitful dreams of Jaejoong's smile and pancakes for breakfast. He makes it a point to bring sunshine to Seoul for the whole of tomorrow.
-
The next day, Changmin finds himself sitting in his office and staring at the white-washed walls. Changmin scowls - the only day where he wants to talk to Yoochun, he decides to ditch him for Junsu. He tries passing time by twiddling with his thumbs and secretly squiggling words in the sky and prodding the clouds to play tag; the distractions all fail though.
Changmin finally reaches the state where he thinks screw social etiquette and texts Jaejoong. Yoochun always tells him that there's a three-day grace period if he wants to contact someone, but Changmin thinks he can make an exception for Jaejoong - just because.
I'm bored. :(
It's sunny! ^^
Oh, uhm, I mean, need some form of entertainment?
Very much.
Go...watch tv?
I'm at work.
Exactly. Unless you're telling me the news station doesn't have television.
But I'm hungry too.
After Changmin pushes the send button, he calls up another new message and hastily sends that as well.
...Does your offer still stand? Because I think I really need a bowl of ramen right now :(
Changmin crosses his fingers.
You idiot. I'm working too. Unless you can miraculously drag me out of the kitchen, then yes, my offer does stand.
A slight period of silence.
...Give me fifteen minutes.
Changmin blinks. He sighs, concluding that Jaejoong must indeed have his hands full in the ever-bustling kitchen. Besides, he notes, with the number of customers his restaurant receives, Changmin frankly isn't surprised if Jaejoong had to work twice as hard every day. His heart lets out a twinge of guilt, eyebrows furrowing in distaste at taking up Jaejoong's time. What if Jaejoong didn't want to talk to him anymore, or what if Jaejoong was angry, or what if-
"Yo Min, you've got mail!" Yoochun abruptly barges into his work desk, snapping Changmin out of his reverie.
"Mail?" Changmin quirks an eyebrow.
"Yeah, it's with the dude with the weird funky hair who works at the lobby," Yoochun says.
"You mean Heechul," Changmin says dryly.
"Who knows," Yoochun shrugs.
"Oh, and by the way," Yoochun adds. "I didn't know you loved the food at Four Seasons so much, so I guess it was a right choice asking you to replace me, huh?" Yoochun chuckles smugly.
Changmin is out of his office in a flash.
He makes it to the lobby in record speed and very nearly rudely snatches his package from Heechul, who had stared at him as if he went insane. Changmin tilts his head; curious, when he re-enters the elevator and does nothing but stare at Jaejoong's gift, wondering what on earth Jaejoong had sent him.
When Changmin reaches his office and deems it Yoochun-free, he promptly unwraps the cloth binding the box, and finds himself face to face with a helpful serving of ramen.
Changmin tries not to let a silly grin show on his face when he sees Yoochun peeking from a potted plant, lest he gets badgered with onslaughts of questions from Yoochun filled with suggestive comments. He hastily snaps open the wooden chopsticks and digs in, muffling his giggle.
The ramen tastes like love, love and love, with a little smidgen of Jaejoong inside. Changmin had never tasted ramen so delicious.
Changmin hurriedly texts a Thank You, :) :) ♥♥♥, filled with pixel smileys and hearts galore. He reciprocates by making the sun shine a little brighter, and pours sunshine down on the remaining week.
-
(Jaejoong doesn't tell Changmin that he secretly keeps his phone inside his pocket when wearing his chef outfit - though he wasn't really supposed to - so that he can reply at a reasonably faster speed.
When Jaejoong calls Changmin an idiot, he wonders if he's the idiot - ignoring the impatient hungry customers and dashing across the streets just to deliver the bowl of ramen to Changmin.
He concludes that maybe he's just an idiot for Changmin alone.)
-
So days pass by, and Jaejoong secretly flicks on the television whenever he finds time to breathe just for a small chance that he can catch Changmin on his widescreen. He never succeeds though, due to his busy schedules that conflict with the times Changmin goes on air, so Jaejoong settles for the second best - texting Changmin and hearing Changmin's voice over a smaller screen, but nonetheless it was still Changmin, so Jaejoong's fine with that.
Jaejoong learns about Changmin's voracious eating habits, and gets a little taste of Changmin's flawless sarcasm. Jaejoong finds himself sending Changmin little packed lunches every other day too - random bites of his newly invented recipes, or simply just whatever he felt like offering the taller man.
(Changmin once chided Jaejoong about the frequent takeaways he finds in his office, claiming that they made him feel guilty, but Jaejoong had just laughed it off - he was more than willing to feed Changmin's ever growling stomach.)
He notices his rising phone bill too, as he now spends most of his free time texting or calling Changmin - chattering into the late nights and early mornings, talking about everything of nothing. Somehow, Jaejoong finds that he doesn't really care about his phone bills anymore.
-
"Minnieeeeee," Jaejoong whines during one of the late autumn nights.
A crackle of static resounds through Jaejoong's ears as Changmin sighs through the phone. "What happened, Jae?"
Jaejoong refuses to grin like an idiot when he hears Changmin calling him by his nickname, and settles for a slight giggle instead. "My new creme brulee doesn't taste nice!"
"The one you sent me on Tuesday?"
"No," Jaejoong chuckles. "I made a new one."
"Why?"
"Don't know, felt like it," Jaejoong shrugs. "...I'm sleepy," he adds.
"Ah, sleep?" Changmin says, a little muffled, his words drowned out at the end by squeals. "Hang on a second," Changmin finally says.
"Yoochun, " Jaejoong hears Changmin yell from the phone. "Would you please get down from my bed, before I'm forced to send a lightning bolt through your head."
"NOOOOOOOOOO," Jaejoong hears a scream, concluding that it was probably Yoochun's.
"Yoochun, do not, I repeat, do not scream into my ears." Changmin's calm voice rings out. Then, to Jaejoong, he mutters apologetically, "Sorry about that. You know how best friends are like."
Jaejoong laughs. "I understand."
"Hang on a sec," Changmin says again, and before Jaejoong could reply, he hears a slight whine followed by the pattering of footsteps across the floor through the line and a firm slam of the door.
"Saved at last," Changmin sighs in relief.
Jaejoong giggles.
"So," Changmin says. "Tell me about that creme brulee of yours."
And Jaejoong always, always obliges.
-
Jaejoong often talks about Changmin to Yunho too, his best friend who owns the flower shop three blocks away from his hotel, where the roses always seem to be in stock.
Yunho often frowned at Jaejoong, while his hands clutched on a fresh bouquet of flowers.
"I hope you know what you're getting into," Yunho would say. "You sound a lot like you're in love."
And Jaejoong always laughed it off. "I'm not in love," he would state firmly. "I thought we established the fact that I'm never going to fall in love again, especially after that"
"Just don't get hurt again, okay?" Yunho would then say uneasily.
And somehow the atmosphere would become a little awkward, as Yunho would then shrug and offer him a lily to tuck in between his pockets and a little less than a mega-watt smile, while Jaejoong's face would contort a little and his heart would scream out 'I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love,' though his mind always pushed such thoughts away and filled his brain with repeated chants of 'I'm not in love, I'm not in love, I'm not in love.', convincing him otherwise.
Jaejoong would always accept the lily gratefully afterwards, and everything resumes back to normal again, though he leaves a little more troubled and a little more uncertain every time.
-
Jaejoong introduces Changmin to Yunho when Changmin calls him one day to ask for advice on flowers for Mother's Day. Yunho's eyes widen when he hears the tinkling of the bell, only to be met with a grinning Jaejoong accompanied by a stumbling taller man with mussed up hair and adorably huge puppy-like eyes.
Yunho audibly gulps.
"Yunho, Changmin," Jaejoong says, dragging the two of them closer to each other, forcibly grabbing their hands. "Changmin, Yunho."
"Okay?" Jaejoong asks, now forcing them into a handshake. "Now be good friends."
Yunho shrugs helplessly at Changmin, who tries his best to stifle a laugh, both too used to Jaejoong's sudden outburts.
"So," Yunho finally says. "What can I do for you, Changmin?"
"He needs flowers," Jaejoong cuts in before Changmin has a chance to open his mouth. "For his mother," he adds.
Changmin grins sheepishly and flails his hands helplessly, staring at the myriad of flowers as if they were from another universe. Jaejoong briefly meets his eyes, and slightly stretches his hand to pet Changmin's hair soothingly.
(Changmin can create rain or shine, he can name any type of cloud he sees in the sky, but there's one thing Changmin can't do - Changmin can't differentiate flowers to save his life.)
Yunho raises an eyebrow at Jaejoong's obvious display of affection, but chooses to ignore it anyway. He skillfully swerves around and picks a few stalks of different flowers before arranging them, and within minutes, presents a beautiful bouquet to Changmin, who was now slowly melting into Jaejoong's touch with a content smile.
"Wow," Changmin breathes, hands slowly grasping on the bouquet. "It's beautiful."
Yunho beams.
"I told you that you didn't have to worry," Jaejoong says smugly. "After all, Yunho's the best florist ever."
Changmin pouts. "How would I know!" he says defensively.
Jaejoong sticks out his tongue. "You should," he says. "Because I'm awesome like that."
"No, not really," Changmin huffs in protest, mouth unconsciously creasing into a smile.
"Hey!" Jaejoong says indignantly. "Who was the one that made you lunch almost everyday!"
Changmin splutters. "B-b-but."
Jaejoong gives a smug smile.
Changmin sighs in resignation. "Fine. You're awesome."
And Jaejoong couldn't help but beam and ruffle Changmin's hair affectionately, pulling Changmin closer to him until their clothes brush, completely unaware of Changmin's furious blushes.
Yunho stares at Jaejoong in shock, and sighs in resignation. Jaejoong doesn't know it, but he's fallen in too deep.
Stupid Jaejoong, he thinks. Stupid, stupid Jaejoong.
And so when Jaejoong and Changmin leaves his shop with a huge bouquet clutched in their hands, Yunho couldn't help but hurriedly exchange phone numbers with Changmin, promising future contact with the strikingly tall man.
"Be careful," Yunho whispers into Changmin's ear, smiling slightly when he sees Changmin eyes widen in curiosity. Changmin smiles a little at him, taking his warning with a pinch of salt, and saunters out of the flower shop clutching tightly onto Jaejoong's hand and the crumple of the wrapper of the bouquet.
Yunho felt rather sorry for Changmin. He was only setting himself up for heartbreak.
Stupid Jaejoong, he thinks again. Stupid, stupid Jaejoong.
-
Changmin drags Jaejoong over to his workplace to meet Yoochun. Only because he couldn't stand Yoochun pestering him about his 'new best friend' (i.e Jaejoong) any longer. So he brings Jaejoong to his comfy little office after persuading him to take a break from work, enticing him with an exclusive invite to see Changmin while recording.
"So this is your new best friend?" Yoochun says with a touch of hysteria, eyebrows raised simultaneously.
"Uh-" Jaejoong says hesitantly.
"Say no more!" Yoochun cries out dramatically, then turns to Changmin. "Farewell, Minnie. This is goodbye." He sniffs and saunters away, only to be stopped by an angry looking Junsu.
Junsu whacks Yoochun across the shoulder. Hard.
"Hey!" Yoochun says, wincing in pain.
"You're an idiot!" Junsu squeaks angrily. "Don't scare Minnie's friend the first time you meet him!"
"B-B-But!"
Changmin shrugs helplessly at Jaejoong, while giving him a sheepish smile. Inwardly, he curses at Yoochun. He had known something would happen once he brought Jaejoong over.
"Uh," Jaejoong says hesitantly. "I'm Jaejoong? And Changmin did mention that you're his best friend, so I don't think-"
"He did?!" Yoochun exclaims delightfully.
"Hey I-" Changmin splutters.
"Yeah, he did," Jaejoong nods.
"I like you already," Yoochun says immediately. Then, he turns to Changmin. "Minnie, for once, I approve."
Changmin sighs in resignation, hands now brought up to rub his temples. He stares helplessly as Junsu proceeds to fuss over Jaejoong, while Yoochun conveniently decided to bring up some of his most embarrassing moments. Changmin should have felt offended, but then he sees Jaejoong's delightful peals of laughter after Yoochun tells the stories, and decides to remain quiet.
-
Changmin doesn't know when, but he thinks that's maybe the time where his heart decides to go against his mind and fall for Jaejoong.
No one said falling in love was going to be hard, but when Changmin falls, Changmin falls hard.
Changmin used to think people fall in love in romantic places like sunset walks at beaches or in between a bouquet of flowers and fancy dinners, but as he finds himself in relationships, he knows that the falling comes at the most unexpected times.
Though Changmin had never imagined himself falling in love at his workplace, at a time when his best friend and his love were discussing about recipes and which restaurant served the best cheesecake. But he falls anyway, brain momentarily shutting down at the realization and eyes blinking rapidly in shock, shock and simply the utter knowing of it.
His heart doesn't race a hundred miles per second like most books say, nor does his cheeks turn a furious red. He doesn't gape in realization, neither does he exclaim and start babbling non-stop to his love. Instead, Changmin drowns himself in his reverie and switches off to the entire world, reveling in the fact that all Jaejoong seemed to radiate at the moment was love, love and love.
"...angmin?" Changmin hears a voice echoing at the back of his mind, then his brain wakes up and his eyes begin focusing again, only to be met with a concerned Jaejoong and a smug looking Yoochun. "Changmin?"
"Mmmm, yeah?" Changmin says blearily.
"Are you all right?" Jaejoong says worriedly.
Changmin smiles a little wider than usual, and shrugs off Jaejoong's worries in a flash.
"Never been better," he says, heart finally starting to beat just a little faster than normal.
At least, that's what he tries to convince himself anyway.
-
Later, when Jaejoong leaves, Changmin finds himself face to face with a smug looking Yoochun in the corridors.
"Someone seems like he's in love," Yoochun whistles.
Changmin huffs, but doesn't bother to deny it either, cheeks blushing a dozen shades of red.
Yoochun grins at him smugly. "So I assume that means sunshine for the entire week then?"
"Month," Changmin immediately corrects Yoochun, before realizing his mistake and bracing himself for the incoming barrage of teasing.
"Well," Yoochun says calmly, to Changmin's surprise. "Better tell my Su to pack his bags then."
Changmin raises an eyebrow. "What for?"
"Naturally," Yoochun says with a hint of a grumble. "You're always making it rain, rain and sending nothing but bloody rain down on Seoul."
"So this time," he lets out a little whoop of joy. "We're obviously going to the beach."
Changmin huffs in resignation. "Do whatever you want, just... don't invite me in the middle of the night to go fishing ever again."
Yoochun pouts. "At least it was fun!" he says defensively. Changmin stares at him, unimpressed.
"Anyway, just for curiosity's sake," he adds after a little drift of silence. "How bad has it gotten?"
"Bad," Changmin says solemnly after a moment of contemplation. "Worser than any other person I've ever dated," he later adds.
"Wow," Yoochun eventually whistles. "You fell for him that badly?"
"You have no idea, Chun," Changmin shakes his head. "You have no idea at all."
---
vi. only one chance in love
Changmin has never been an insecure or a fumbling person by nature, preferring to take things head on, consequences be damned. So Changmin doesn't really think much about the implications or the results when he decides to confess to Jaejoong on a Monday morning, where he makes the sun shine inexplicably brighter.
Changmin doesn't like clichés, so he doesn't really bother to take Jaejoong to an amusement park where he'll confess on the highest point of the ferris wheel, nor does he bother to carry on with all the formalities on dates in high class restaurants. (Jaejoong could most probably cook better anyway.) Instead, he chooses to report to work just like any other day at 8.00a.m and goes on the weather news with his usual mismatched eyes and unerring predictions.
Changmin feels the nervousness finally creeping up when he sees Jaejoong's tendrils of blonde hair getting carried away by the soft wind and Jaejoong's huge starry eyes and unbelievable lips and he thinks, this is why i fell in love in the first place.
He sees Jaejoong's bright eyes catching the light of the afternoon's sun and a curious tilt on his face and falls harder than he thinks he possibly could, heart plunging a little less 550 miles per hour. I can do this, he thinks as he fumbles on the threads of his suit and chews nervously on his lips.
"Changmin," Jaejoong's voice comes out soft and hesitant but concerned all the same.
And then Changmin decides to hell with logic and throws whatever sense of reason he has out of the window, and simply lets his feelings carry him forward.
"I like you," he blurts out, mind unconsciously casting a backdrop of fluffy clouds and rainbows in the sky, all still in anticipation for Jaejoong's reply.
"I like you too!" Jaejoong says all too cheerily for Changmin to actually take him seriously.
"No Jae, not the like like," Changmin amends quietly. "As in I really really like- oh Jae, I love you."
Jaejoong's eyes widen in shock and realization and all emotions in between. He gapes and hurriedly covers his mouth in shock.
"Oh no. No, no, no, no, no," Jaejoong chants in horror.
"You can't do this to me," his voice shook. "You can't, Min-ah."
"It''s not that I don't like you in that way," Jaejoong continues, his every word piercing little daggers straight into Changmin's heart. "It's just that I really can't-"
"You don't have to console me, Jaejoong," Changmin whispers, ignoring the way Jaejoong winces when hearing his name called out in detached formality. "It's your choice."
Jaejoong falters, heart pounding so heavily in his chest he could feel the pinch of guilt wheedling through. "But-" he says, then sighs in resignation. "I''m sorry, Min-ah."
Jaejoong casts his pained eyes towards Changmin, tears peeking out from the corners. It made Changmin almost fall a little deeper with him, even though he knows he's not supposed to.
Jaejoong turns his back away, as if it gave him a little more courage, and walks away a little quicker than normal, leaving Changmin standing stupidly on the grassy fields as the rainbows vanished and dark clouds approached threateningly.
Well, that was a lot less painful that I thought, Changmin thinks after a long stall in his mind. He makes his way back to the news station, mind in an inexplicable daze.
Somewhere in between his conscious state, Changmin hears a faint choke followed by loud heart-wrenching sobs coming from someone, somewhere. He idly wonders who on earth it could possibly be, then stops in his tracks and lets the loss of Jaejoong finally, finally sink in, and he finally feels the rush of pain and realizes - Oh, that's me.
-
Changmin makes it rain for the whole of next week, and swears to let it pour in Seoul weeks after. He tries not to think about how Jaejoong hated the rain.
(on to part 2.)