Bad Boy (나쁜 남자) - Prologue
Prologue: A Fate Worse than Death
He walked down the hallway with his head hung low, an index finger coming up to push the pair of thick-rimmed glasses that were slowly slipping down the bridge of his nose; the heavy caramel orange fringe in front of his forehead falling softly and hiding his slightly feminine eyes in the process.
People passed by him without acknowledging his presence, as if he were a ghost, floating by and having the ability to see everyone else but no one else was able to see him.
Although normally such a form of isolation would make others feel sad and neglected, he was content with the way things were.
His grandmother, who he had always respected and loved, had once told him, when he was a young child, to “live life without getting noticed and trouble will not come your way.”
And he had followed her words, living a peaceful life for twenty-one years, transitioning smoothly from elementary school, to high school and now university, without any sort of drama that normally happens to your typical teenager drag queen/jock.
It made things a lot easier and saved him a lot of trouble, even if it were a bit too quiet sometimes… and occasionally, there would be whispering and people pointing at him, probably wondering why he was such a nerd who didn't like making friends and just went to school to study.
But, on the inside, he always told himself that they would all get a mighty dose of their own medicine when he became their boss one day, because unlike them, he had actually studied hard instead of going out to karaoke, play billiard or fool around with their girlfriends/boyfriends.
A loud scream coming from down the hall made him look up cautiously to see what the commotion was about.
But there wasn’t really a need to do so, because he already knew what, are rather, who, was causing it.
And sure enough, the sight of a raven-haired beauty, bathing in all his charismatic glory, walked down the hallway with a bunch of squealing girls and boys following closely behind, all staring at him in utmost admiration.
Now, I know you’re probably thinking: What is this? Some kind of Japanese or Korean drama? Like, Hana Yori Dango or Hana Kimi?
Well, no, it isn’t, since this is just a random fanfiction thought up of by yours truly, on the spur of an extremely odd moment.
Anyways, weird comments aside, let’s get back to the story.
Looking downwards and hugging the textbooks in his hands closer to his chest, he quickly walked to the side, making room for the large crowd that was drawing closer in a loud manner.
However, despite the fact that he was quite skinny for his height and age, this group of fanboys and fangirls weren’t your normal bunch, which resulted in the massive squishing and pushing within the fairly cramped hallway.
Before he knew what was happening, the books that he had been clutching tightly to his chest fell to the floor, causing a few girls to turn his way and laugh in a mocking manner as he bent down to pick them up.
This was nothing new for the normally quiet student, as he was often picked on during his elementary and high school days.
But that didn’t stop him from blushing like a red-hot chili pepper at the utter disgrace he had become... someone who didn’t even have the will to stand up for himself.
It’s okay… Patience is a virtue… Strong men don’t get mad easily and a successful business man never uses his fists… he just keeps his mouth shut and shows those who look down upon him whose boss in the future… He thought to himself as he gritted his teeth together and bit back the anger that was boiling within him.
All of a sudden, the laughter and noise subsided as the sound of a pair of rather expensive leather shoes made their way towards the young man, who was still hurriedly picking up the books and didn’t notice what was going on around him.
Now, I know what you’re thinking… stereotypical popular guy takes pity on the stereotypical outcast. He picks up the textbooks for him, their fingers brush against one another’s and they feel drawn towards one another after their gazes meet, then before you know it, they fall in love with each other and the story ends in a happy way.
Right?
Well, if it were that simple, I would’ve ended this fanfiction with only a 709 word count. (Which some of you would either be devastated or extremely annoyed by because it’ll seem like I had wasted your precious time on making you read something as dinky as Yoochun’s you-know-what)
Bending downwards, the raven haired man picked up the rather large history textbook, making the student who was in the process of collecting them from the floor look up.
It wasn’t his first time seeing the “idol” of the university, praised for his looks and athletic talent, but Yoochun had never seen him in such close proximity.
More accurately, he had never even gotten the chance to do so because of the swarm of fans that surrounded the man daily, not to mention the fact that he had a tendency to swerve away from the popular cliques.
However, putting all this aside, he still couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by the sight of the man’s milky white complexion, accompanied by a pair of electrifying eyes, a rather cute button nose and plump full lips that no one dared taste but could only dream of touching.
The man smiled as he saw the glazed look in Yoochun’s eyes, a phenomenon that he was already quite used to, and handed the textbook over to him.
Blinking away the daze that he was in, Yoochun finally closed his mouth, which he had unconsciously opened, and gulped.
“Hey.”
The somewhat higher than he had expected voice made Yoochun look into those chocolately brown eyes once more, all thoughts flying out the window as he dwelled further within the spell that had him going crazy.
“Y-Yes?” He all but squeaked in a timid voice, finding his throat suddenly too dry for comfort as a faint hint of peaches drifted into his senses.
Smirking, the man said, “Next time you drop your books, make sure it isn’t around me… because it’s such a hassle to have to stop and watch an idiot like you pick them up. My time is quite precious, you know?”
This statement caused the rest of the fan club to burst out in a fit of laughter, and the man smiled at his own words as Yoochun looked down at the floor, the harshness of reality crushing his frail heart and beating him down from Cloud nine all the way to Hell.
Dropping the textbook loudly in front of Yoochun, the man stood up, earning himself a few pats on the back from his followers.
“Way to go, Junsu-ah!” One of them said loudly then laughed along with the rest.
A girl whose name Yoochun couldn’t quite remember (or care for that matter), came up to him and bent down, sneering at him with her hands on her hips, and said, “Yeah, you better listen to Junsu-oppa, otherwise, you’re really gonna get it, ugly.”
As the rest of them laughed, Junsu turned slightly sideways and said, “Ya, Suzy, don’t waste your time talking to guys like him. I’m hungry.”
With an annoyed “hmph!”, Suzy muttered, “You’re lucky this time… I better not catch you stopping in the middle of the hallway again… or else!”
She then ran over towards Junsu and clung onto his arm, saying in a spine-chilling (too high toned aegyo) voice, “Oppa, what do you want to eat? I’ll buy you anything you want!”
As the group slowly disappeared around the corner, Yoochun slowly reached out to pick up the history textbook that had been thrown in front of him, bitterly trying to collect the pieces of his broken heart and pride in the process.
Grandmother was right… in this world, there is no such thing as trust… I should just continue living my life the way it has always been and avoid those who have the potential of blocking my path… just one more year… one more year, and I’ll graduate… it’ll be okay, Park Yoochun. You can do it! Just because he is beautiful, doesn’t mean that his heart is beautiful as well… I should know that all too well by now... that the world is very cruel place… It was stupid of me to think that he would pick up the textbook for me… to think that he was different from the rest…
Little did he know that this beautifully cruel creature was in fact quite inevitable and was going to turn his quiet, well planned out life upside down.
Yoochun sighed as he stood in front of his doorstep, one hand that held his house keys hanging hesitantly in the air, just above the doorknob of the front door.
It wasn’t that he hated going home; because that was the one place he loved the most.
No, it was the questions that would follow once he entered the house.
Perhaps I should go somewhere for a while… But where? The library? A coffee shop? Yoochun thought to himself, his nose crinkling at the thought.
No, I hate going to libraries because people are always talking to each other there… they don’t really study… as for a coffee shop, it’ll probably be even louder… besides, I don’t even like coffee… not to mention the fact that I might bump into someone from school there and it’ll just give them another chance to make fun of me for being alone…
He didn't get a chance to come up with a conclusion because the front door suddenly flung open, a rather handsome young man greeting him with a warm smile and open arms.
“Yoochun-ah! Welcome home!” The mocha brown haired man called out warmly, his charming smile practically blinding Yoochun.
“Hello hyung.” Yoochun replied meekly, coughing a little as his older brother wrapped him up in a tight embrace and patted him on the back.
How they could be brothers was always a mystery to Yoochun because there were definitely a lot of differences between the two.
For instance, his brother was super athletic and had looks that could make any woman (or man who swung that way) go weak in the knees.
And that was only his killer smile.
As opposed to Yoochun’s scrawny, toneless body, his brother possessed a sculpted one that could only be defined as hot, sexy and perfect.
Now, you’d probably think, “Well, I’m pretty sure that Yoochun makes up for it by being academically smarter than him, right? Or is Yoochun’s brother the flawless type of guy that fulfills every girl’s requirements, and are commonly found in mangas and dramas alike?”
Well, we all know that no such man exists… but since this is a fanfiction, let’s just say it’s the latter.
But haven lost both their parents at a young age, Yoochun’s brother had had to give up his education (his dream was to become an athlete coach or a doctor of sorts) and take on three part time jobs to support their family, as well as save up for Yoochun’s school fees.
I know, I know…… cliché much?
But believe me, nothing in life is NOT cliché. Trust me on that.
“So, how was school today?” Yoochun’s brother said with a large smile, which Yoochun sometimes found charming, but at most times, he could only term it as “doofy” (a combination of dumb and goofy. I know… I’m a genius eh?).
“Um, it was… okay… I guess…” Yoochun mumbled, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he readjusted his hold on his backpack.
“Just okay?” He asked, his concerned eyes following his younger brother as Yoochun walked into the living room and threw his bag onto the chair, then proceeded to head over to the refrigerator for a glass of cold water.
“Yeah…”
Seeing the sullen look on Yoochun’s face, his brother could only sigh.
Although he knew that entering Seoul University was always his younger brother’s dream, after attending the school, Yoochun had become even more introverted.
And even though he knew that there must be something bothering Yoochun, he never asked because he believed that when Yoochun was ready to tell him, he would.
“Oh!” He suddenly said, looking up with eyes twinkling in delight as a conversational topic popped into his mind. “I wanted to tell you something. Um, well, you know how we have four bedrooms, right? Well, I was thinking… since we only use two of them… and the other two have been empty for quite a while now… why don't we rent them out?”
Yoochun looked up in surprise at the suggestion, his eyes widening at the unexpected news.
Besides the rooms that he and his brother used, one of them was a guest room, while the other belonged to their deceased parents.
Although neither of them spoke of it, Yoochun and his brother never went into their parents’ room, hoping to preserve it just the way it was.
“Chun… Look, we both know that Umma and Appa’s memories are quite precious… but don’t you think it’s about time we moved on? I mean, they wouldn’t want us to mourn over them forever… not to mention the fact that we’ve been quite tight on money lately…” His brother added, twiddling his thumbs as he looked down at his fingers.
“Wha-what? Really? Why didn’t you tell me about it?” Yoochun asked in bewilderment.
“Well… I was afraid that you’d worry over such trivial matters and it would have an affect on your studying…”
“Yunho-hyung, these aren’t ‘trivial matters’… it’s something that concerns the both of us!”
Sighing, Yunho said, “I know, I know… but that’s why I was more than delighted when one of my co workers from work mentioned about finding a place!”
“Your co worker?”
“Yup!” Yunho said whilst nodding. “From my evening part time job at the Japanese restaurant! He’s a really great guy… and best of all, he’s an excellent cook! He promised to cook for us as part of the rent!”
“I… I see…” Yoochun said uncertainly, still unable to wrap his head around the fact that he would have to share his house with a stranger.
Well, at least I won’t have to worry about going to the hospital because of food poisoning anymore… Yoochun thought to himself with a shudder. I am literally going to die one of these days because of hyung’s cooking…
“Wait, but he’ll be only renting the guest room, right? So why did you say two…”
“Oh! I almost forgot to mention that he has a younger brother as well, who just so happens to be the same age as you! Come to think of it, I think he goes to the same school as you too! Isn’t that great? He might be someone you know!” Yunho said cheerfully, oblivious to the look of dismay on Yoochun’s face.
“Hyung…”
“It’ll be awesome! You guys could go to school together and study together…” Yunho said dreamily, looking off into the distance.
“And get laughed at even at home… perhaps even threatened to do his or her homework and getting beaten up…” Yoochun mumbled to himself, feeling his heart sink to the pit of his stomach at the thought.
“What was that?”
“Nothing… Hyung… could you please reconsider this? I mean, it’s not a small decision, you know… to have some strangers move in with us…” Yoochun pleaded.
Face falling slightly at Yoochun’s words, Yunho said, “But… but I already planned everything out… and told them that they could move in anytime…”
“Seriously?!”
“Y-yeah…” Yunho said timidly, shrinking a little at the expression on Yoochun’s face. “Actually… they’re moving in tomorrow…”
“WHAT!!???”
( Chapter 1 )