(no subject)
Changmin tried to pay attention to the plump woman at the gate checking his passport and sputtering out some mediocre Korean, but if he was being honest he wished that they would just cut the chatter and let him through.
Traveling made him itch all over. Thinking of all the people, all the germs coming from God only knew…
He shivered as he took his passport finally with a mumbled ‘thank you’ in English. He tucked his next plane ticket into the fold of his passport and stuck it into his jacket pocket, knowing he would want it somewhere easy for when he needed it next.
It was at least a good time of the day, still pretty early in the morning in California. There were mostly businessmen who were hopping around for meetings, the occasional family traveling to the convenience and cheaper rates that early flights entailed. He felt a bit tired, but nothing that could not be cured with a good night’s sleep on his best friend’s couch.
He was glad he was taking the initiative and taking off work to see Yunho. The man was married now and working all the time, holding his breath waiting for Yunho’s schedule to free up enough for a trip to Korea would have killed him. Changmin had only heard about the girl in pieces, but, if she was good enough for Yunho to drop everything and move all the way to New York to be with her, Changmin knew he would like her.
Changmin puffed out his cheeks and made his way towards the gate where he would pick up the flight to Washington D.C. to make his way to New York. He took his time since he had an hour until the flight took off, looking into all the little shops curiously but nothing piqued his interest enough to stop and take a look. The shops at the Los Angeles airport were certainly not to be taken lightly, but Changmin tended to be stingy about what he bought no matter where he was or how rare the item.
He spotted a coffee shop and bee-lined towards it, smile cracking across his face as he stood in line behind two older women and glanced at the menu. He squinted as if it could assist him in his poor English skills, and after a moment he gave up and figured he would manage somehow. The two other customers filed through quickly and the younger girl behind the counter faltered a bit upon seeing Changmin before smiling as if she might die if she didn’t. Changmin sighed inwardly as she stuttered out a hello and asked what he wanted to drink.
“Soy… caramel… macchiato?” He answered uncertainly, hoping he had ordered something that was actually on the menu. She nodded enthusiastically, her blonde curls bouncing excitedly around her heart-shaped face as her manicured nails poked at the cash register multiple times before the green numbers appeared on the display. He handed her one of the smaller bills he had and waited for change, trying to look at something besides her blatant motions for his attention after giving him his change.
He checked his iPhone for any messages from Yunho as he waited for his drink to be made, again to busy himself from the girl.
He could be smiling back, pursuing a conversation. That’s how Yunho met Jessica, a chance trip to a small New York coffee shop setting the rest of his future after just an exchange of smiles and friendly small talk that escalated into three dates before he left the states to return to Korea.
She was cute, that was obvious. But Changmin had always found it difficult to picture himself marrying any woman, his love life lacking about as much as his intelligence was soaring. He thought women were attractive, but he had always assumed that something was wrong with him and he could never elicit that “spark” they always talked about in movies and romance novels where two people can look at each other and just feel the passion without words.
Not that he believed in that cheesy garbage anyway.
“One grandé soy caramel macchiato.” She called suddenly and he took the drink with a friendly smile, rushing out of the shop to emphasize that he was really not interested.
His arm with the drink hit something that felt like skin and bone, and before he could register what exactly was happening he was looking at a white T-shirt covered in his liquid addiction, and two slender hands gripping his waist and arm.
Changmin was not a clumsy person. This carelessness didn’t happen with him. Ever. He was confident in his stride and his ability to control where his abnormally long limbs were going after 25 years of living with his body, and it was surprising that it had happened there of all places when he was looking forward to the coffee so badly.
“Are you alright?” the voice broke him out of the disappointed rant his brain had taken up and he felt the grip of the other turn soft, questioning, causing his eyes to raise from the white T-shirt to a soft, honey-skinned face with large brown orbs and wide, unusually perfectly shaped lips.
“Are you alright?!” Changmin brushed off the question and tried not to look at the other, however, unsure of how to handle the situation.
“It’s a little hot. But I’ll live.” The man nodded, looking down at his shirt and looking for a moment as if he was about to strip the garment off in the middle of the busy airport before shaking his head and looking at Changmin.
“Someone’s clumsy.”
“I don’t know what came over me.” Changmin bristled. The man grinned, and the devilish flare took Changmin offguard.
“Let me help you with that mystery. The name’s Cho Kyuhyun. I’ll meet you at the car rental place, bring a new shirt for me.” The man said simply before releasing Changmin and swinging his backpack over his shoulder.
Changmin stared, dumbfounded, as the man brushed past him and continued walking.
“Who does he think he is?” Changmin muttered, glancing around for a trashcan. As he made his way for the aluminum bin he spotted a tourist cash cow; bright colored ‘Los Angeles’ T-shirts and bags and sweatshirts begging to be taken by desperate American tourists. He let out a sigh and went inside, knowing the guilt would eat him alive if he didn’t buy a shirt for the man, at the very least. He grabbed the nearest gender-neutral colored T-shirt in a size that (he hoped) would fit the other man from the quick size-up he had done as he glanced at the man. There was no one in line, thankfully, and he set the shirt wordlessly on the counter and went for his pocket.
“Sir? That will be $25.” The Indian man said sharply, and Changmin nodded quickly as he went to the next pocket of his jacket.
He froze and his eyes widened as he felt a small wet, almost cool spot on his shirt where coffee had gotten. Where the man had grabbed him to steady him.
Where the man had grabbed and swiped his wallet and passport.
Changmin ran out of the store and looked around frantically, pulling his phone out of his pocket and dialing Yunho as he made his way towards what he hoped was the baggage claim and rental area.
“Min-ah! Did you land?”
“Yunho. How do you call the police in this country?” Changmin hissed as he kept walking faster.
“What happened?”
“A damn Korean just took my passport and wallet. Told me to meet him at the car rental place with a new shirt after I spilled coffee on him.” Changmin explained shortly.
“Did he give you his name or something?” Yunho asked.
“He said his name was Cho Kyuhyun.”
“… What?”
Yunho’s question fell unanswered as Changmin approached the car rental booths, a large crowd of flashing cameras and loud yelling filled the echoing place, window-covered ceiling creating warmth on the top of his head as his eyes fell upon the center of the circle.
“Changmin-ah? Cho Kyuhyun? That’s the name of the singer from that group I told you about. The group that Jessica and I saw on our second date…”
“Ah, good, my ride is here. Let’s go.” The man, Kyuhyun, cleared through the people and approached Changmin as if they had known each other for an eternity.
“Your ride?”
“Changmin?” Yunho’s voice was concerned now, and Kyuhyun gave a grin before taking the phone out of Changmin’s hands.
“Hi this is Cho Kyuhyun, may I ask who this lovely creature is that spilled coffee on me?” He asked daringly, keeping his eyes on Changmin, chuckling as Yunho must have answered him. “Yes, I’m that Kyuhyun. Thank you Yunho-sshi, I’ll take good care of your Changmin.”
“You have got to be joking. I’m not going anywhere with you!” Changmin snapped.
“Actually, you kind of have to, you know?” Kyuhyun asked, wrinkling his nose a bit and tapping his hand against his backpack. Changmin gaped, realizing he was being shamelessly blackmailed.
By a famous American musician in the middle of the Los Angeles airport, with an ocean of paparazzi taking a picture of his mouth hanging open and Kyuhyun smiling like an angel.Here's chapter one, thanks for waiting! <3