Aspartame 2/8
Title: Aspartame
Pairing: ChunJae
Length: Chaptered
Summary: Jaejoong thinks he found just another sugar daddy to support him, but Yoochun is a different kind of sweet.
He opened his browser, made a face at his profile picture and clicked on to his inbox. There were fifteen new messages. Jaejoong skimmed them and pressed 'select all' and 'ignore'. Then he googled "Park Yoochun". He'd done this before, and unsurprisingly the result hadn't changed.
His Park Yoochun wasn't famous or important enough to stand out. Jaejoong flicked through some locked profiles on varies sites without any pictures or other ways of identification. Eventually he gave up, closed his laptop and leaned back against the side of his bed. He had a decent desk, but somehow he always ended up sitting on the floor.
He had some reading to do, and he needed to set a date with some other students to work on a group project. Before he could force himself to care, his ringtone provided an excuse to push it back a little further.
Junsu was calling. They usually texted each other, but Jaejoong kept forgetting to answer Junsu's messages lately. It wasn't on purpose, not always. Lately Junsu only sent annoying texts anyway, like 'what's up' and 'come hang out at -insert place-'.
He hadn't bothered to check, but he'd probably received one or more of those when he was with Yoochun. Jaejoong sighed and answered the call. "Yes?"
He could hear voices in the background, so Junsu was probably still at Donghae's. "Oh good. You're alive." There was definitely sarcasm in his voice.
"Yes I am. Thank you for your concern," Jaejoong said.
"Where are you?"
"At home.. mom."
Junsu ignored that and just kept on talking. "How was your date?"
Jaejoong rolled his eyes. "It was alright. He's nice."
"But he didn't come home with you?"
"Oh my god, why do you care? Seriously, you're worse than my mother. At least she realises that I'm almost 23."
There was a short silence, a moment for Jaejoong to regret lashing out like that, and then Junsu said: "I'm acting like your friend. And I know that I wouldn't normally ask you all those questions, but that's because normally you'd tell me things that happened to you without me asking. Do you remember when we used to talk about things?"
Jaejoong opened his mouth, but there was nothing he could say. He was distancing himself from his friends without telling them the reason, and Junsu had every right to be upset.
There were some noises on the other end of the line, and a new voice said something in the background. "Is it Jae?" Yunho had a bit of slur. Junsu didn't drink, but Yunho definitely had tonight. "Gimme.
Jaejoong heard Junsu sigh and Yunho's voice sounded closer. "Hey Joongie, man, this is fun, you should come. I just won the drinking game and then I could make out with whomever I wanted but Donghae invited way too many girls, oh and you should hear Hyukjae do this amazing impression of-"
Jaejoong ended the call and dropped his phone on the carpet. He pulled his knees up and pressed his face against them. He wanted another shower, but he'd just had one a few hours ago.
It was impossible to avoid Junsu when they had so many classes together. Jaejoong tried to act like nothing happened, but Junsu cornered him in a hallway. "We need to talk."
"I'm sorry I yelled at you."
"Are you also sorry for acting strange the past few months? Were you planning on telling me why, some day.. ever?"
"I'm just going through.. some things.. personal. You don't have to worry about it."
"Yeah, now I won't worry." Junsu rolled his eyes. "Why can't you tell me just a little bit more? Is it a family thing, a health thing? It's not bad break-up again is it? You weren't this weird after Hyunjoong."
Jaejoong winced only a little bit at the name.
"Oh come on," Junsu said, "it's been two years, you have to stop acting like he's Voldemort."
"Jaejoong!" Like last night, their conversation was interrupted by Yunho just when it had become very tense. Yunho came running down the hallway with messy hair and a face that screamed hangover without being completely unattractive, a quite impressive accomplishment.
He stopped next to Jaejoong and leaned against the wall while he tried to catch his breath. "Did I speak to you on the phone last night? I don't really remember, but please tell me I didn't say anything stupid."
"You didn't," Jaejoong reassured him.
Yunho smiled. "Good. Thanks for taking me home, Su." He pushed away from the wall. "I am so late for class. I am so dead." He started running again.
"No problem," Junsu said, and then louder, just when Yunho was about to turn a corner: "Sorry I couldn't stop you from making out with that girl though."
Yunho yelled "What?!" and turned around at the same time. He almost ran into someone.
"Just kidding," Junsu shouted.
"I hate you."
".. or am I?"
"Stop being mean to him," Jaejoong said, but it didn't sound very convincing because he was laughing.
Junsu sighed as he watched Yunho curse and run off. "Why do people drink alcohol, seriously."
"It's not all bad," Jaejoong said.
Junsu looked at him, and Jaejoong realised that for a short moment, things had gone back to normal. Junsu knew it too. It hurt because it was over.
"Jae-"
"We're also late for class," Jaejoong interrupted him.
The bouncer let him enter after a single glance at his face. This was one of the most high class places in the city, membership cost a fortune, and Jaejoong might have been proud of being a permanent plus one if he'd actually liked being here.
He was wearing tight jeans and a loose red shirt that revealed part of his chest. It didn't really suit the establishment, most men wore suits here, but his watch and necklace almost made up for it.
Lee Soo Man was waiting for him at the table in their private booth. He patted the spot next to him on the loveseat and his hand was already on Jaejoong's leg before he could even sit down properly.
"I've missed you," the old man said.
Jaejoong smiled. "I've missed you too."
Mister Lee took his wrist and inspected the watch, as if to check if it was really the one he'd given him. "Do you like it?"
"Very much. I haven't taken it off all week." Lies like that were okay. Mister Lee didn't care. Jaejoong squirmed involuntarily as the other hand crept up over his leg.
"What do you want to drink tonight, baby?"
"Whatever you're having," Jaejoong said. He blocked the hand with his own, as politely as he could.
Mister Lee didn't seem pleased, but at that moment someone came up to them to say that president Choi had arrived.
This was the terribly boring part, where a group of men would talk business for hours sometimes. Jaejoong didn't know how common it was for big shots at well known companies to conduct business at a night club. There were probably some things being said here that he shouldn't tell anyone about. He didn't care. It was all so boring that he immediately forgot most of it anyway.
Mister Lee bought him drinks and every now and again placed a hand on his leg or around his waist, and his guests complimented him for his looks. Always his looks. Jaejoong sometimes felt the urge to tell them that he was in university, and to remind them that they probably got their current positions through family connections or with a lot of luck, but of course he never did.
It was the boring part, but not the worst part. The worst was when the guests had left and Lee Soo Man had him all to himself again. Jaejoong always told himself that he'd say no if the man ever went too far, but the definition of 'too far' was really too arbitrary.
This man paid his rent for him and bought him expensive gifts, surely Jaejoong should allow him to breathe against his neck for that, and maybe to feel him up a bit, only a little bit.
Mister Lee never really went 'too far', and not just because Jaejoong kept changing the limit. He'd never made him take off any clothes or asked him to return the touches. He also mostly stuck to Jaejoong's arms and legs and face, which was fine.
It was fine. Jaejoong had to tell himself that multiple times every time he got home and felt disgusted.
"There is an unscheduled meeting this Friday," mister Lee said, a little too close to Jaejoong's ear, "sorry for telling you on such short notice. I'd like you to be there."
Jaejoong forced an apologetic smile. "I'm really sorry, but Friday is-"
"Baby, you know I can't face those men without my beautiful arm candy."
Thursday morning Jaejoong skipped class and stayed in bed because there was no compulsory attendance and he really didn't feel like going anywhere today. In the afternoon he would have to meet up with Yoochun for the second time, he couldn't get around that.
When he got a text, he assumed it would be from Junsu, asking where the hell he was. He wondered when Junsu would stop caring completely, but he didn't want to decide if that moment was something he looked forward to or feared.
It wasn't Junsu though, it was his mother. Jaejoong read the message and immediately felt terrible. His parents had sent him money again. He'd told them more than once that he didn't need it, but they either didn't believe him or they didn't care. And he couldn't bring himself to tell them again.
He'd often thought about telling them that he got a job and that he could send them money instead, but they would ask what kind of job it was, they'd want to know everything, especially if it would get in the way of his studies. Jaejoong wasn't so confident when it came to lying to his parents.
His heart clenched when he read the last sentence. You'll be home for dinner tomorrow, right? Tell me what you'd like to eat.
He should have done this earlier. Now couldn't even bring himself to call her to say it out loud, coward. He texted back: "I'm really sorry, but there's a deadline tomorrow at midnight and I haven't finished my designs yet. I don't think I can make it.
He had to wait a while for the reply. His mother wasn't very fast on her phone, but he could predict what she would say.
It's okay. We can move it to Saturday. Can you make it then? Study hard. I'm proud of you.
Jaejoong wasn't proud of himself.
Yoochun wanted to meet him at a coffee shop this time. It was different from what Jaejoong was used to, it felt almost like they were dating. He was even later than usual, but Yoochun was waiting patiently.
He looked good in casual clothes, with a sky blue button down and his hair a bit messier. He wore glasses too. Jaejoong couldn't stop his stupid brain from letting that little detail remind him of Hyunjoong. It didn't really matter. Today couldn't get much worse anyway.
"Hey," Yoochun said. "I would have ordered for you, but I'm not sure what you like."
"Simple latte," Jaejoong said, with the most convincing smile he could muster, "and a blueberry muffin." He really needed something sweet.
"Just the latte," Yoochun said. "I brought something to eat."
Jaejoong wanted to glare at him. If it was Junsu in front of him he would have told him to stop teasing and demanded his muffin, or he would have done so in the past..
"We haven't really discussed what you want me to do for you yet," he said instead, with another forced smile, "at least not in much detail."
Yoochun frowned. "Like I said, I just want someone to talk to. Having dinner on your own every night makes you feel lonely after a while."
Jaejoong nodded and smiled. That was easy enough, possibly a bit too good to be true, but he'd deal with that later.
Yoochun was still frowning. "If you're having a bad day you don't have to pretend to be fine, not for me. I don't like it."
Jaejoong wondered why none of his techniques seemed to work on this man. It was getting a bit frustrating. On the other hand it felt really good to hear someone say that this day was bad, just hearing that made it a little bit better.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I hope you don't think it's because of you. It's been a bit of a stressful week."
One of the most important rules was to never appear emotional and definitely not pour his heart out. He was supposed to be the drama-free, simple entertainment, not a demanding boyfriend, but Yoochun had practically asked for it here..
Yoochun looked down. "Maybe you're not in the right mood for this then, I'm sorry, but this is a present that expires pretty quickly." He pulled a box from a bag beside his chair and put in on the table between them. Jaejoong looked up at him in question. Yoochun opened the box to reveal a small cake. Jaejoong looked at the decoration and back up at Yoochun, lost for words.
"It's your birthday tomorrow, isn't it?" Yoochun said. "I thought this was appropriate, even if it's a bit early. But if you prefer a muffin I'll buy you one. I wasn't sure what you like."
"This is.." Jaejoong reached out and pulled the box towards him as if to show that he accepted the present, "I really like this." It was very hard to keep his emotions in check now. A suddenly realisation saved him from actually pouring his heart out.
"My birthdate isn't on my profile.. only the year." He looked at Yoochun again.
"I have my ways," Yoochun said. "I'm not stalking you if that's what you think. This is all I know about you, I swear."
Jaejoong wanted to know where this information came from, but maybe he could let this one go. There wasn't much harm in Yoochun knowing when to surprise him with a cake.
"I have another present," Yoochun said. "I wanted to buy you something pretty, but I'd really like to get to know you better too, so I thought we could go somewhere together. I don't know what you like, but since you got excited over a building last time I thought maybe the opera house would be a good location. I bought tickets for the ballet."
Jaejoong really smiled for the first time today. "I do like that. When is it?"
"The day after tomorrow, Saturday."
Jaejoong's smile fell. He tried to cover it up by taking a sip of his latte, but of course Yoochun noticed.
"Do you have plans already?"
Jaejoong waved his hand. "No, it's fine. I can cancel-"
"You clearly have something else planned," Yoochun said. "It's not a problem. I can easily book another show, just let me know when you have time. Shall we try the cake now?"
3. Mango
1. Chocolate
Pairing: ChunJae
Length: Chaptered
Summary: Jaejoong thinks he found just another sugar daddy to support him, but Yoochun is a different kind of sweet.
He opened his browser, made a face at his profile picture and clicked on to his inbox. There were fifteen new messages. Jaejoong skimmed them and pressed 'select all' and 'ignore'. Then he googled "Park Yoochun". He'd done this before, and unsurprisingly the result hadn't changed.
His Park Yoochun wasn't famous or important enough to stand out. Jaejoong flicked through some locked profiles on varies sites without any pictures or other ways of identification. Eventually he gave up, closed his laptop and leaned back against the side of his bed. He had a decent desk, but somehow he always ended up sitting on the floor.
He had some reading to do, and he needed to set a date with some other students to work on a group project. Before he could force himself to care, his ringtone provided an excuse to push it back a little further.
Junsu was calling. They usually texted each other, but Jaejoong kept forgetting to answer Junsu's messages lately. It wasn't on purpose, not always. Lately Junsu only sent annoying texts anyway, like 'what's up' and 'come hang out at -insert place-'.
He hadn't bothered to check, but he'd probably received one or more of those when he was with Yoochun. Jaejoong sighed and answered the call. "Yes?"
He could hear voices in the background, so Junsu was probably still at Donghae's. "Oh good. You're alive." There was definitely sarcasm in his voice.
"Yes I am. Thank you for your concern," Jaejoong said.
"Where are you?"
"At home.. mom."
Junsu ignored that and just kept on talking. "How was your date?"
Jaejoong rolled his eyes. "It was alright. He's nice."
"But he didn't come home with you?"
"Oh my god, why do you care? Seriously, you're worse than my mother. At least she realises that I'm almost 23."
There was a short silence, a moment for Jaejoong to regret lashing out like that, and then Junsu said: "I'm acting like your friend. And I know that I wouldn't normally ask you all those questions, but that's because normally you'd tell me things that happened to you without me asking. Do you remember when we used to talk about things?"
Jaejoong opened his mouth, but there was nothing he could say. He was distancing himself from his friends without telling them the reason, and Junsu had every right to be upset.
There were some noises on the other end of the line, and a new voice said something in the background. "Is it Jae?" Yunho had a bit of slur. Junsu didn't drink, but Yunho definitely had tonight. "Gimme.
Jaejoong heard Junsu sigh and Yunho's voice sounded closer. "Hey Joongie, man, this is fun, you should come. I just won the drinking game and then I could make out with whomever I wanted but Donghae invited way too many girls, oh and you should hear Hyukjae do this amazing impression of-"
Jaejoong ended the call and dropped his phone on the carpet. He pulled his knees up and pressed his face against them. He wanted another shower, but he'd just had one a few hours ago.
It was impossible to avoid Junsu when they had so many classes together. Jaejoong tried to act like nothing happened, but Junsu cornered him in a hallway. "We need to talk."
"I'm sorry I yelled at you."
"Are you also sorry for acting strange the past few months? Were you planning on telling me why, some day.. ever?"
"I'm just going through.. some things.. personal. You don't have to worry about it."
"Yeah, now I won't worry." Junsu rolled his eyes. "Why can't you tell me just a little bit more? Is it a family thing, a health thing? It's not bad break-up again is it? You weren't this weird after Hyunjoong."
Jaejoong winced only a little bit at the name.
"Oh come on," Junsu said, "it's been two years, you have to stop acting like he's Voldemort."
"Jaejoong!" Like last night, their conversation was interrupted by Yunho just when it had become very tense. Yunho came running down the hallway with messy hair and a face that screamed hangover without being completely unattractive, a quite impressive accomplishment.
He stopped next to Jaejoong and leaned against the wall while he tried to catch his breath. "Did I speak to you on the phone last night? I don't really remember, but please tell me I didn't say anything stupid."
"You didn't," Jaejoong reassured him.
Yunho smiled. "Good. Thanks for taking me home, Su." He pushed away from the wall. "I am so late for class. I am so dead." He started running again.
"No problem," Junsu said, and then louder, just when Yunho was about to turn a corner: "Sorry I couldn't stop you from making out with that girl though."
Yunho yelled "What?!" and turned around at the same time. He almost ran into someone.
"Just kidding," Junsu shouted.
"I hate you."
".. or am I?"
"Stop being mean to him," Jaejoong said, but it didn't sound very convincing because he was laughing.
Junsu sighed as he watched Yunho curse and run off. "Why do people drink alcohol, seriously."
"It's not all bad," Jaejoong said.
Junsu looked at him, and Jaejoong realised that for a short moment, things had gone back to normal. Junsu knew it too. It hurt because it was over.
"Jae-"
"We're also late for class," Jaejoong interrupted him.
The bouncer let him enter after a single glance at his face. This was one of the most high class places in the city, membership cost a fortune, and Jaejoong might have been proud of being a permanent plus one if he'd actually liked being here.
He was wearing tight jeans and a loose red shirt that revealed part of his chest. It didn't really suit the establishment, most men wore suits here, but his watch and necklace almost made up for it.
Lee Soo Man was waiting for him at the table in their private booth. He patted the spot next to him on the loveseat and his hand was already on Jaejoong's leg before he could even sit down properly.
"I've missed you," the old man said.
Jaejoong smiled. "I've missed you too."
Mister Lee took his wrist and inspected the watch, as if to check if it was really the one he'd given him. "Do you like it?"
"Very much. I haven't taken it off all week." Lies like that were okay. Mister Lee didn't care. Jaejoong squirmed involuntarily as the other hand crept up over his leg.
"What do you want to drink tonight, baby?"
"Whatever you're having," Jaejoong said. He blocked the hand with his own, as politely as he could.
Mister Lee didn't seem pleased, but at that moment someone came up to them to say that president Choi had arrived.
This was the terribly boring part, where a group of men would talk business for hours sometimes. Jaejoong didn't know how common it was for big shots at well known companies to conduct business at a night club. There were probably some things being said here that he shouldn't tell anyone about. He didn't care. It was all so boring that he immediately forgot most of it anyway.
Mister Lee bought him drinks and every now and again placed a hand on his leg or around his waist, and his guests complimented him for his looks. Always his looks. Jaejoong sometimes felt the urge to tell them that he was in university, and to remind them that they probably got their current positions through family connections or with a lot of luck, but of course he never did.
It was the boring part, but not the worst part. The worst was when the guests had left and Lee Soo Man had him all to himself again. Jaejoong always told himself that he'd say no if the man ever went too far, but the definition of 'too far' was really too arbitrary.
This man paid his rent for him and bought him expensive gifts, surely Jaejoong should allow him to breathe against his neck for that, and maybe to feel him up a bit, only a little bit.
Mister Lee never really went 'too far', and not just because Jaejoong kept changing the limit. He'd never made him take off any clothes or asked him to return the touches. He also mostly stuck to Jaejoong's arms and legs and face, which was fine.
It was fine. Jaejoong had to tell himself that multiple times every time he got home and felt disgusted.
"There is an unscheduled meeting this Friday," mister Lee said, a little too close to Jaejoong's ear, "sorry for telling you on such short notice. I'd like you to be there."
Jaejoong forced an apologetic smile. "I'm really sorry, but Friday is-"
"Baby, you know I can't face those men without my beautiful arm candy."
Thursday morning Jaejoong skipped class and stayed in bed because there was no compulsory attendance and he really didn't feel like going anywhere today. In the afternoon he would have to meet up with Yoochun for the second time, he couldn't get around that.
When he got a text, he assumed it would be from Junsu, asking where the hell he was. He wondered when Junsu would stop caring completely, but he didn't want to decide if that moment was something he looked forward to or feared.
It wasn't Junsu though, it was his mother. Jaejoong read the message and immediately felt terrible. His parents had sent him money again. He'd told them more than once that he didn't need it, but they either didn't believe him or they didn't care. And he couldn't bring himself to tell them again.
He'd often thought about telling them that he got a job and that he could send them money instead, but they would ask what kind of job it was, they'd want to know everything, especially if it would get in the way of his studies. Jaejoong wasn't so confident when it came to lying to his parents.
His heart clenched when he read the last sentence. You'll be home for dinner tomorrow, right? Tell me what you'd like to eat.
He should have done this earlier. Now couldn't even bring himself to call her to say it out loud, coward. He texted back: "I'm really sorry, but there's a deadline tomorrow at midnight and I haven't finished my designs yet. I don't think I can make it.
He had to wait a while for the reply. His mother wasn't very fast on her phone, but he could predict what she would say.
It's okay. We can move it to Saturday. Can you make it then? Study hard. I'm proud of you.
Jaejoong wasn't proud of himself.
Yoochun wanted to meet him at a coffee shop this time. It was different from what Jaejoong was used to, it felt almost like they were dating. He was even later than usual, but Yoochun was waiting patiently.
He looked good in casual clothes, with a sky blue button down and his hair a bit messier. He wore glasses too. Jaejoong couldn't stop his stupid brain from letting that little detail remind him of Hyunjoong. It didn't really matter. Today couldn't get much worse anyway.
"Hey," Yoochun said. "I would have ordered for you, but I'm not sure what you like."
"Simple latte," Jaejoong said, with the most convincing smile he could muster, "and a blueberry muffin." He really needed something sweet.
"Just the latte," Yoochun said. "I brought something to eat."
Jaejoong wanted to glare at him. If it was Junsu in front of him he would have told him to stop teasing and demanded his muffin, or he would have done so in the past..
"We haven't really discussed what you want me to do for you yet," he said instead, with another forced smile, "at least not in much detail."
Yoochun frowned. "Like I said, I just want someone to talk to. Having dinner on your own every night makes you feel lonely after a while."
Jaejoong nodded and smiled. That was easy enough, possibly a bit too good to be true, but he'd deal with that later.
Yoochun was still frowning. "If you're having a bad day you don't have to pretend to be fine, not for me. I don't like it."
Jaejoong wondered why none of his techniques seemed to work on this man. It was getting a bit frustrating. On the other hand it felt really good to hear someone say that this day was bad, just hearing that made it a little bit better.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I hope you don't think it's because of you. It's been a bit of a stressful week."
One of the most important rules was to never appear emotional and definitely not pour his heart out. He was supposed to be the drama-free, simple entertainment, not a demanding boyfriend, but Yoochun had practically asked for it here..
Yoochun looked down. "Maybe you're not in the right mood for this then, I'm sorry, but this is a present that expires pretty quickly." He pulled a box from a bag beside his chair and put in on the table between them. Jaejoong looked up at him in question. Yoochun opened the box to reveal a small cake. Jaejoong looked at the decoration and back up at Yoochun, lost for words.
"It's your birthday tomorrow, isn't it?" Yoochun said. "I thought this was appropriate, even if it's a bit early. But if you prefer a muffin I'll buy you one. I wasn't sure what you like."
"This is.." Jaejoong reached out and pulled the box towards him as if to show that he accepted the present, "I really like this." It was very hard to keep his emotions in check now. A suddenly realisation saved him from actually pouring his heart out.
"My birthdate isn't on my profile.. only the year." He looked at Yoochun again.
"I have my ways," Yoochun said. "I'm not stalking you if that's what you think. This is all I know about you, I swear."
Jaejoong wanted to know where this information came from, but maybe he could let this one go. There wasn't much harm in Yoochun knowing when to surprise him with a cake.
"I have another present," Yoochun said. "I wanted to buy you something pretty, but I'd really like to get to know you better too, so I thought we could go somewhere together. I don't know what you like, but since you got excited over a building last time I thought maybe the opera house would be a good location. I bought tickets for the ballet."
Jaejoong really smiled for the first time today. "I do like that. When is it?"
"The day after tomorrow, Saturday."
Jaejoong's smile fell. He tried to cover it up by taking a sip of his latte, but of course Yoochun noticed.
"Do you have plans already?"
Jaejoong waved his hand. "No, it's fine. I can cancel-"
"You clearly have something else planned," Yoochun said. "It's not a problem. I can easily book another show, just let me know when you have time. Shall we try the cake now?"
3. Mango
1. Chocolate