[Fic] The Empty Spaces
Title: The Empty Spaces
Pairing: Yunjae, OT5
Rating: PG
Genre: Fluff, slight bittersweet angst
Summary: “Cake before dinner?!” Jaejoong all but screamed.
Cake, candles, singing and the presence of Jaejoong and all his other members. Yunho thought this was the perfect 27th birthday. Or so it seemed…
Yunho let his gaze drift outside the full-length window beside him, eyes watching the people passing him by on the streets of Seoul. His attention darted from one flashing light to another of the bustling city outside. It was a mundane Monday, and if not for the sizeable group of fans he spotted loitering outside the restaurant he was in, Jung Yunho felt like a pretty average man.
“Yun.”
A soft voice accompanied by a warm hand on his made him turn his attention back from the window with a small “Hmm?”. Looking at the concerned face seated across him, Yunho could not help but feel his lips curl up into a smile. Yunho was now aware he was not as average as he hoped himself to be; for average men most certainly did not have the honour of having such a darling, beautiful being grace their worlds.
“Yunho, what’s wrong?” Jaejoong left his seat with the grace of a feline and crossed the table to take the vacant space beside Yunho instead, hand never once leaving Yunho’s. Brows furrowed with concern, he gently brushed Yunho’s fringe out of his leader’s eyes with his free hand.
Yunho’s smile widened and he noticed Jaejoong twitched in slight irritation. “Yun, what is wrong?”
“It’s nothing, baby.” He grasped the smooth hand that was cupping his cheek, bringing it down to where their other two hands met on the table top. “I was just a little distracted.”
“Distracted?” Jaejoong’s eyes narrowed dangerously, ready to attack the younger man. He snappily withdrew his hands from Yunho’s. “You’re distracted even when I’m around?”
Yunho chuckled, amused, enjoying yet another display of the light of his life’s adorable narcissistic bitchy tendencies.
Jaejoong glared at him, any previous sign of affection on his face now thoroughly gone. “I could just leave, you know. And you can spend your 27th birthday alone, you ungrateful ass,” he hissed coldly.
The auburn-haired man grinned widely, leaning back into his seat, appearing relaxed. “Well, the others should be reaching soon anyway,” he made a sweeping gesture to the unoccupied seats at their table, “so technically I wouldn’t be alone.” The older man made a sound that closely resembled that of an extremely pissed off stuffed bear and promptly stood up, a dangerous flash in his eyes. He barely made two steps away from their table before a strong hand gripped his trembling forearm tightly.
Yunho visibly panicked, his body draped across the seat Jaejoong had just vacated to hold onto the seething man. “Jae. Jaejoongie, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it, alright? I’m sorry,” he swallowed hard, sending Jaejoong the most pitiful kicked-puppy face he could muster.
He carefully observed Jaejoong’s reaction with a trained eye, watching his features soften before they grew harsh with determination again. Yunho leaned further towards Jaejoong, almost lying horizontally across both their seats, and wrapped one arm around his slender waist, burying his face into the curve of Jaejoong’s back. “Please don’t leave me,” he pleaded. “Please?” he added with a slight pout, rubbing his face against Jaejoong’s branded jacket. Damn, he was this close to whimpering like a helpless bullied pup.
Jaejoong sighed, appearing contemplative, a hand gently massaging his temples. The whole time Yunho was making what he hoped sounded like cute, endearing little noises, accented by small tugs on the older man’s arm.
“Alright,” Jaejoong said at last, shoulders sagging in defeat. “I’m staying, but only because I’m such a nice, gracious man who has aged with grace and wisdom; unlike someone who’s still behaving like the overgrown toddler that he is.” He allowed himself a dramatic sigh before giving way to a conceding grin, settling back into the chair beside Yunho.
The other man gave a sigh of relief and a satisfied grin of a well-fed cat, throwing one arm over Jaejoong’s shoulders. He would have done a victory dance if it were not for the fact that they were in public. The thought of embarrassing photos of himself wriggling in a restaurant splashed on the front page of the country’s newspapers was not very tempting. Nonetheless, it was nice to know that his aegyo could still charm the socks of his Jaejoongie even at his good ol’ age of 27.
“I have no idea who you are talking about, but that sounds like one hell of an annoying person.” Yunho smirked, eyes twinkling mischievously.
“I’m sure,” Jaejoong let out a soft sigh, as though resigned to his fate of looking after his precious man-child for life.
They sat in silence, just enjoying the blissful company that was each other. Dressed in casual outfits without all their stage makeup, it was almost as though they were just another ordinary couple out to celebrate a special day. Jaejoong’s well-coiffed head somehow found itself nestled in the crook of Yunho’s neck, and Yunho’s face tilted slightly into the dark brown locks of hair, breathing in the scent that was so distinctly Jaejoongie. Yunho’s left hand was laced with the fingers of Jaejoong’s right, meeting in the hairline crack between their two thighs. He drew lazy circles with his thumb on the back of the older man’s hand, loving the feeling of their matching rings clinking against each other in perfect unison.
Yunho gave a contented sigh, feeling Jaejoong’s warm breath against his bare neck. There was obviously nothing in the world he would not give up to have this moment last forever. Everything was just… perfect.
An awkward growl broke the perfection.
Yunho felt Jaejoong beginning to pull away, and he hastily held the smaller man in his place with a groan. “Dude, your stomach just ruined our moment,” Jaejoong whined, his tone caught in an identity crisis between amusement and annoyance.
“Sorry,” came the hasty, sheepish apology. “You know my tummy; it’s never been a good boy.”
“Do you want to order something first? I have no idea why the boys are so late. Remind me to kill them once they arrive.”
Yunho chuckled softly. “I’m fine, Joongie. I have you; I’ll be fine,” he gave the warmth that was leaning against him a small squeeze. Yunho felt more than saw Jaejoong smile, luscious lips pressing against his throat.
“Happy birthday, Yunho-yah,” he whispered, hands leaving the comfort of Yunho’s long fingers to produce a small box topped with a bow from the pocket of his jacket.
“Thanks, Boo,” Yunho planted a kiss on Jaejoong’s smooth forehead as he accepted the gift, his voice brimming with tenderness.
A dry cough interrupted them and Jaejoong pulled away from Yunho lazily, this time not even bothering to conceal his displeasure. “Yah! You guys are ruining our moment. Yunjae-fans will hunt you for life.” He folded his arms and leaned back into the chair, crossing his legs elegantly at the same time. He looked up, eyebrow arched, to see Yoochun wriggling his brows knowingly, Junsu chuckling and blushing like an innocent schoolgirl, and Changmin looking… well, how one would look when you have just witnessed your parents being intimate.
“Well?” Jaejoong tapped one finger impatiently on his elbow, looking expectantly at each of his younger members.
“Sorry, hyung,” Yoochun began, although he barely sounded as though he meant it. “Junsu and I had to pick Changmin up from his work before we could go to your place to get the cake. And then the drive here took longer than it should have been because we had to prevent this perpetually hungry kid from devouring the cake even before the birthday boy can take a glimpse of it.” He slid into the empty seat across Yunho, shooting an accusing glare at their maknae.
“Food is meant to be eaten,” Changmin offered no apologies, “especially if it’s done by Jaejoong-hyung’s hands.” He set the big white box he had been clutching precariously against his chest onto the middle of the table, hands immediately working at removing the ribbon adorning the box to reveal a round chocolate cake.
“You baked me a cake?” Yunho’s mouth fell into an ‘o’, carefully putting Jaejoong’s present beside him to free his hands and pull the man into a hug. “Oh you shouldn’t have! You just being here is more than enough for me,” he clutched Jaejoong tightly into the embrace. Yunho could feel his eyes growing wide and glistening with tears. If everyone had to resemble an anime character at least once in their life, this was definitely his moment.
Jaejoong blinked and shyly turned away from Yunho’s adoring gaze, his cheeks colouring. Yoochun nudged Junsu to bring his attention to the situation, and the younger man squealed in delight at his hyungs’ display of affection.
“Just Jaejoong-hyung, hmm Yunho-hyung? What about us?”
“The presence of your ginormous butt is very much appreciated as well, Junsu.” Yunho tore his eyes away from Jaejoong for a split second to give their resident dolphin his attention before hurriedly returning them back to Jaejoong’s blushing face. Junsu laughed his loud, infectious laughter, Yoochun quickly joining in. Changmin rolled his eyes at the stupidity around him as he finished up lighting the candles on the cake with an unceremonious cough.
“Can we eat now?”
At this, the dreamy look on Jaejoong’s face vanished and morphed into one of utter horror. “Cake before dinner?” he all but screamed.
The table fell silent and Changmin’s disappointment was evident all over his features. Protests were starting to form in his mind but Yunho beat him to it.
“Just for tonight, okay, Boojae?” he gave a chaste kiss to Jaejoong’s tinted cheek. “For me, okay? For me? For me? For me?” he pouted and whined, wriggling his chest a little, putting his verified aegyo skills to use once again. Yoochun and Junsu erupted into peals of laughter that evolved into victory calls when Jaejoong nodded shyly with a contented sigh of defeat. Yunho broke into a dazzling smile and kissed Jaejoong’s cheek again, ruffling his dark brown locks affectionately, to which Jaejoong responded with an unconvincing glare.
“Hyung, I love you,” Changmin declared, too happy at the prospect of eating to remember that he should be gagging.
A perfect, harmonious singing of Happy Birthday followed, five voices blending together in a way only they can. Yunho was smiling so wide he was sure his cheeks would ache tomorrow. As the song reached its end with an enthusiastic applause, Yunho felt that his chest was going to burst from sheer happiness. Every moment with them was so precious.
“Go on, hyung, make a wish!”
Yunho looked carefully at each beaming face that surrounded him: Junsu’s earnest, sincere face, easy to read like an open book; Yoochun’s was always thoughtful, though mischief was never too far from his twinkling eyes; Changmin’s handsome features reflected a strong, loyal man; and Jaejoongie… Jaejoong was always smiling at him with unconditional love and acceptance. His smile broadened when he noticed Yunho’s gaze lingering on him a little too long, eyes curving further into small crescents with a slight tilt of his pretty head. Yunho wanted to remember this all.
What should he wish for? There were many things he wanted in life, but the answer was obvious, easy. I wish for them to be happy, no matter where they are. Yunho shut his eyes, blowing all the candles out as applause and cheers faded in his ears.
With a sigh, he reluctantly forced open his eyelids, eyes wet and vision blurry.
Yunho was seated alone at an empty table in a restaurant.
*~*~*~*~*
*master fic list
A/N: Yuuuuuuuuup I’ve committed the biggest sin of how not to end an essay that my teachers have been ranting to me since I was a kid. (>.<) But I started writing this with the end in mind, so… yeah. Inspiration for this piece came from seeing a post saying that there were photos of Yunho dining alone on his birthday. WHERE IS CHANGMIN? WHERE IS DONGHAE? You shouldn’t have to be alone on your birthday, poor selfless darling! (Unless you want to, of course.) Gaaaah that, combined with my obsession with people talking to empty spaces, gave birth to this. I siriusly need to stop writing psychotic!Yunho. Siriusly.
Can’t access LJ on my com, I DUNNOE WAI. So posting’s a real bitch. (T.T) Is this happening to any other Singapore user as well? :/
And… totally unrelated but, MEISANISHI. Haha I read about the news when I was in school yesterday, and I was reeling in shock for a good few hours. How did they even get to know each other lol. I just wish that it wasn’t shotgun. :/ (My friend tells me it’s only a rumour though!) You go and be an awesome husband and dad, Jin!!! Daddy!Jin for real at long last! Haha the kid is going to be super gorgeous!
And all those rumours about people committing suicide… Siriusly. =.= I hope they remain rumours. I just don’t… argh.
AND WHAT IS THIS I’M SEEING ON MY FRIENDS PAGE ABOUT CHUNNIE IN A SEX TAPE SCANDAL?! O: Someone please tell me it isn’t true.
Pairing: Yunjae, OT5
Rating: PG
Genre: Fluff, slight bittersweet angst
Summary: “Cake before dinner?!” Jaejoong all but screamed.
Cake, candles, singing and the presence of Jaejoong and all his other members. Yunho thought this was the perfect 27th birthday. Or so it seemed…
Yunho let his gaze drift outside the full-length window beside him, eyes watching the people passing him by on the streets of Seoul. His attention darted from one flashing light to another of the bustling city outside. It was a mundane Monday, and if not for the sizeable group of fans he spotted loitering outside the restaurant he was in, Jung Yunho felt like a pretty average man.
“Yun.”
A soft voice accompanied by a warm hand on his made him turn his attention back from the window with a small “Hmm?”. Looking at the concerned face seated across him, Yunho could not help but feel his lips curl up into a smile. Yunho was now aware he was not as average as he hoped himself to be; for average men most certainly did not have the honour of having such a darling, beautiful being grace their worlds.
“Yunho, what’s wrong?” Jaejoong left his seat with the grace of a feline and crossed the table to take the vacant space beside Yunho instead, hand never once leaving Yunho’s. Brows furrowed with concern, he gently brushed Yunho’s fringe out of his leader’s eyes with his free hand.
Yunho’s smile widened and he noticed Jaejoong twitched in slight irritation. “Yun, what is wrong?”
“It’s nothing, baby.” He grasped the smooth hand that was cupping his cheek, bringing it down to where their other two hands met on the table top. “I was just a little distracted.”
“Distracted?” Jaejoong’s eyes narrowed dangerously, ready to attack the younger man. He snappily withdrew his hands from Yunho’s. “You’re distracted even when I’m around?”
Yunho chuckled, amused, enjoying yet another display of the light of his life’s adorable narcissistic bitchy tendencies.
Jaejoong glared at him, any previous sign of affection on his face now thoroughly gone. “I could just leave, you know. And you can spend your 27th birthday alone, you ungrateful ass,” he hissed coldly.
The auburn-haired man grinned widely, leaning back into his seat, appearing relaxed. “Well, the others should be reaching soon anyway,” he made a sweeping gesture to the unoccupied seats at their table, “so technically I wouldn’t be alone.” The older man made a sound that closely resembled that of an extremely pissed off stuffed bear and promptly stood up, a dangerous flash in his eyes. He barely made two steps away from their table before a strong hand gripped his trembling forearm tightly.
Yunho visibly panicked, his body draped across the seat Jaejoong had just vacated to hold onto the seething man. “Jae. Jaejoongie, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it, alright? I’m sorry,” he swallowed hard, sending Jaejoong the most pitiful kicked-puppy face he could muster.
He carefully observed Jaejoong’s reaction with a trained eye, watching his features soften before they grew harsh with determination again. Yunho leaned further towards Jaejoong, almost lying horizontally across both their seats, and wrapped one arm around his slender waist, burying his face into the curve of Jaejoong’s back. “Please don’t leave me,” he pleaded. “Please?” he added with a slight pout, rubbing his face against Jaejoong’s branded jacket. Damn, he was this close to whimpering like a helpless bullied pup.
Jaejoong sighed, appearing contemplative, a hand gently massaging his temples. The whole time Yunho was making what he hoped sounded like cute, endearing little noises, accented by small tugs on the older man’s arm.
“Alright,” Jaejoong said at last, shoulders sagging in defeat. “I’m staying, but only because I’m such a nice, gracious man who has aged with grace and wisdom; unlike someone who’s still behaving like the overgrown toddler that he is.” He allowed himself a dramatic sigh before giving way to a conceding grin, settling back into the chair beside Yunho.
The other man gave a sigh of relief and a satisfied grin of a well-fed cat, throwing one arm over Jaejoong’s shoulders. He would have done a victory dance if it were not for the fact that they were in public. The thought of embarrassing photos of himself wriggling in a restaurant splashed on the front page of the country’s newspapers was not very tempting. Nonetheless, it was nice to know that his aegyo could still charm the socks of his Jaejoongie even at his good ol’ age of 27.
“I have no idea who you are talking about, but that sounds like one hell of an annoying person.” Yunho smirked, eyes twinkling mischievously.
“I’m sure,” Jaejoong let out a soft sigh, as though resigned to his fate of looking after his precious man-child for life.
They sat in silence, just enjoying the blissful company that was each other. Dressed in casual outfits without all their stage makeup, it was almost as though they were just another ordinary couple out to celebrate a special day. Jaejoong’s well-coiffed head somehow found itself nestled in the crook of Yunho’s neck, and Yunho’s face tilted slightly into the dark brown locks of hair, breathing in the scent that was so distinctly Jaejoongie. Yunho’s left hand was laced with the fingers of Jaejoong’s right, meeting in the hairline crack between their two thighs. He drew lazy circles with his thumb on the back of the older man’s hand, loving the feeling of their matching rings clinking against each other in perfect unison.
Yunho gave a contented sigh, feeling Jaejoong’s warm breath against his bare neck. There was obviously nothing in the world he would not give up to have this moment last forever. Everything was just… perfect.
An awkward growl broke the perfection.
Yunho felt Jaejoong beginning to pull away, and he hastily held the smaller man in his place with a groan. “Dude, your stomach just ruined our moment,” Jaejoong whined, his tone caught in an identity crisis between amusement and annoyance.
“Sorry,” came the hasty, sheepish apology. “You know my tummy; it’s never been a good boy.”
“Do you want to order something first? I have no idea why the boys are so late. Remind me to kill them once they arrive.”
Yunho chuckled softly. “I’m fine, Joongie. I have you; I’ll be fine,” he gave the warmth that was leaning against him a small squeeze. Yunho felt more than saw Jaejoong smile, luscious lips pressing against his throat.
“Happy birthday, Yunho-yah,” he whispered, hands leaving the comfort of Yunho’s long fingers to produce a small box topped with a bow from the pocket of his jacket.
“Thanks, Boo,” Yunho planted a kiss on Jaejoong’s smooth forehead as he accepted the gift, his voice brimming with tenderness.
A dry cough interrupted them and Jaejoong pulled away from Yunho lazily, this time not even bothering to conceal his displeasure. “Yah! You guys are ruining our moment. Yunjae-fans will hunt you for life.” He folded his arms and leaned back into the chair, crossing his legs elegantly at the same time. He looked up, eyebrow arched, to see Yoochun wriggling his brows knowingly, Junsu chuckling and blushing like an innocent schoolgirl, and Changmin looking… well, how one would look when you have just witnessed your parents being intimate.
“Well?” Jaejoong tapped one finger impatiently on his elbow, looking expectantly at each of his younger members.
“Sorry, hyung,” Yoochun began, although he barely sounded as though he meant it. “Junsu and I had to pick Changmin up from his work before we could go to your place to get the cake. And then the drive here took longer than it should have been because we had to prevent this perpetually hungry kid from devouring the cake even before the birthday boy can take a glimpse of it.” He slid into the empty seat across Yunho, shooting an accusing glare at their maknae.
“Food is meant to be eaten,” Changmin offered no apologies, “especially if it’s done by Jaejoong-hyung’s hands.” He set the big white box he had been clutching precariously against his chest onto the middle of the table, hands immediately working at removing the ribbon adorning the box to reveal a round chocolate cake.
“You baked me a cake?” Yunho’s mouth fell into an ‘o’, carefully putting Jaejoong’s present beside him to free his hands and pull the man into a hug. “Oh you shouldn’t have! You just being here is more than enough for me,” he clutched Jaejoong tightly into the embrace. Yunho could feel his eyes growing wide and glistening with tears. If everyone had to resemble an anime character at least once in their life, this was definitely his moment.
Jaejoong blinked and shyly turned away from Yunho’s adoring gaze, his cheeks colouring. Yoochun nudged Junsu to bring his attention to the situation, and the younger man squealed in delight at his hyungs’ display of affection.
“Just Jaejoong-hyung, hmm Yunho-hyung? What about us?”
“The presence of your ginormous butt is very much appreciated as well, Junsu.” Yunho tore his eyes away from Jaejoong for a split second to give their resident dolphin his attention before hurriedly returning them back to Jaejoong’s blushing face. Junsu laughed his loud, infectious laughter, Yoochun quickly joining in. Changmin rolled his eyes at the stupidity around him as he finished up lighting the candles on the cake with an unceremonious cough.
“Can we eat now?”
At this, the dreamy look on Jaejoong’s face vanished and morphed into one of utter horror. “Cake before dinner?” he all but screamed.
The table fell silent and Changmin’s disappointment was evident all over his features. Protests were starting to form in his mind but Yunho beat him to it.
“Just for tonight, okay, Boojae?” he gave a chaste kiss to Jaejoong’s tinted cheek. “For me, okay? For me? For me? For me?” he pouted and whined, wriggling his chest a little, putting his verified aegyo skills to use once again. Yoochun and Junsu erupted into peals of laughter that evolved into victory calls when Jaejoong nodded shyly with a contented sigh of defeat. Yunho broke into a dazzling smile and kissed Jaejoong’s cheek again, ruffling his dark brown locks affectionately, to which Jaejoong responded with an unconvincing glare.
“Hyung, I love you,” Changmin declared, too happy at the prospect of eating to remember that he should be gagging.
A perfect, harmonious singing of Happy Birthday followed, five voices blending together in a way only they can. Yunho was smiling so wide he was sure his cheeks would ache tomorrow. As the song reached its end with an enthusiastic applause, Yunho felt that his chest was going to burst from sheer happiness. Every moment with them was so precious.
“Go on, hyung, make a wish!”
Yunho looked carefully at each beaming face that surrounded him: Junsu’s earnest, sincere face, easy to read like an open book; Yoochun’s was always thoughtful, though mischief was never too far from his twinkling eyes; Changmin’s handsome features reflected a strong, loyal man; and Jaejoongie… Jaejoong was always smiling at him with unconditional love and acceptance. His smile broadened when he noticed Yunho’s gaze lingering on him a little too long, eyes curving further into small crescents with a slight tilt of his pretty head. Yunho wanted to remember this all.
What should he wish for? There were many things he wanted in life, but the answer was obvious, easy. I wish for them to be happy, no matter where they are. Yunho shut his eyes, blowing all the candles out as applause and cheers faded in his ears.
With a sigh, he reluctantly forced open his eyelids, eyes wet and vision blurry.
Yunho was seated alone at an empty table in a restaurant.
*~*~*~*~*
*master fic list
A/N: Yuuuuuuuuup I’ve committed the biggest sin of how not to end an essay that my teachers have been ranting to me since I was a kid. (>.<) But I started writing this with the end in mind, so… yeah. Inspiration for this piece came from seeing a post saying that there were photos of Yunho dining alone on his birthday. WHERE IS CHANGMIN? WHERE IS DONGHAE? You shouldn’t have to be alone on your birthday, poor selfless darling! (Unless you want to, of course.) Gaaaah that, combined with my obsession with people talking to empty spaces, gave birth to this. I siriusly need to stop writing psychotic!Yunho. Siriusly.
Can’t access LJ on my com, I DUNNOE WAI. So posting’s a real bitch. (T.T) Is this happening to any other Singapore user as well? :/
And… totally unrelated but, MEISANISHI. Haha I read about the news when I was in school yesterday, and I was reeling in shock for a good few hours. How did they even get to know each other lol. I just wish that it wasn’t shotgun. :/ (My friend tells me it’s only a rumour though!) You go and be an awesome husband and dad, Jin!!! Daddy!Jin for real at long last! Haha the kid is going to be super gorgeous!
And all those rumours about people committing suicide… Siriusly. =.= I hope they remain rumours. I just don’t… argh.
AND WHAT IS THIS I’M SEEING ON MY FRIENDS PAGE ABOUT CHUNNIE IN A SEX TAPE SCANDAL?! O: Someone please tell me it isn’t true.