It's Not You, It's Me - Chapter 4 (HoMin)

[monick87]

Title: It's Not You. It's Me.
Pairing: HoMin (Main), YunJae (Side)
Authors: monick87
Length: 4/?
Genre: AU
Warnings: Unbeta'd, angst, and smut later on
Rate: R
Disclaimer: Inspired in the movie by the same name, but with twists.
Summary: Yunho meets Changmin, a young man that could be more than just friends with him...if only he could forget Jaejoong.



Chapter 4

Yunho was getting worried. It had been 3 days since Taepoong didn’t want to eat and wasn’t as active as he usually was. He had always being a happy and outgoing dog, but recently he wasn’t, and Yunho could even say he was being moody.

The dog was now 7 months old, so Yunho read the book that Changmin had given him, just in case there was something about a dog becoming an adult of something like that. He was confused, because he didn’t really know about dog’s psychology and Yunho wanted to take care of his beloved dog as much as he could.

Without having to think about it too much, he decided to go to the store and ask for Changmin’s help.

“Good morning, Changminnie!” Yunho said, as he got into the store, holding Taepoong’s leash in one of his hands.

Changmin, who was sitting comfortably, looked up from the book he was reading and sighed. “Good morning, Yunnie,” he replied, remarking the nickname.

Yunho laughed. “Woah, woah. What was that?” He asked amused.

“If you can’t fight the enemy, join them,” Changmin replied nonchalantly. “I’ve told you like a million times not to call me Changminnie, but some people just never learn…and unfortunately I can’t use violence with a regular client.”

Yunho pouted. “You break my heart, Changminnie. I thought we were friends,” he added, putting his free hand over his heart.

“Buy me lunch and we’ll see,” the younger replied, putting his book aside and getting up from the chair he was previously sitting at.

“Already asking me out? I thought we were going to be friends first!” Yunho smirked, gaining a trademark eyes roll from the younger man.

“He’s a client, I can’t hit him. He’s a client, I can’t hit him,” Changmin repeated to himself over and over, but loud enough for Yunho to hear, as he approached the man and his dog.

Yunho just laughed out loud and Changmin frowned when he noticed Taepoong wasn’t all jumpy and excited as he always was when Changmin approached him.

“Is Taepoongie, ok?” He asked. “You’re here because of him, right?”

Yunho nodded. “He’s been acting weird. And according to the book you gave me, it’s not so normal. He barely eats and just wants to be sleeping. I was hoping Junsu could check on him,” he explained worriedly.

Changmin got on his knees. He looked at Taepoong’s face, eyeing closely the dog’s mouth. He grabbed the mouth and inspected the gum and tongue of the animal. Then he lowered the head of the dog and checked on the inner part of the eyelids. “He seems to start developing anemia, but he needs to be tested,” he declared, biting his lower lip. “Junsu had to go out of town for a few days. Family issues…” he explained. “But I can give you the number a good veterinarian I know. Not as good as Junsu, of course, but don’t tell him that or he will think I actually care for him.”

Yunho laughed softly. “Why don’t you check on him? You’re studying for being a veterinarian, aren’t you?” He suggested, getting on his knees to pet Taepoong, who had just laid down on the floor.

Changmin looked at the other man. “I’m studying that. Already doing the thesis and finishing some courses, but I’m still not a veterinarian, Yunho.”

“But you’re smart and I trust you!” The older man argued. “And I can buy you food!” He added, hopefully.

“You can buy me food if you want to, but I would feel better if an actual veterinarian would check up on him,” Changmin stated with a smile, while patting the dog’s head.

Yunho looked at him in the eyes. “Ok, then. Thank you, Changmin. So, will you give me that doctor’s number?” He said, getting up.

Changmin got up as well and reached for his cell phone on his pocket. He put it out and scrolled down until he found the number he was looking for. “This is the number,” he said, showing the screen to Yunho so he could type it down his own cell phone.

Yunho pulled out his cell phone as well and quickly saved the number. “Can you give me your number, too? You know just in case you want me to call you…just to inform you how Taepoong is doing…” Yunho said just before Changmin could put back the mobile in his pocket.

“Oh, of course. Give me your cell phone,” Changmin commanded. Yunho gave him his mobile phone and he quickly saved his number in it, before giving it back. “You know…I would be less worried if you could call me frequently…to update me about Taepoong, that is. So feel free to call me anytime.”

There was an awkward silence, and Yunho quickly decided it was time to go back home and get ready for work.

*****

These past week, Yunho’s job had been very stressful. He was doing the choreography of a new musical with the collaboration if his dear friend Rino Nakasone, and it had taken a lot of his time.

He had taken Taepoong to the veterinarian Changmin had recommended him, and he had said it was just a case of anemia. He gave Yunho medication for his dog and he made sure Taepoongie was taking it almost religiously.

True to his word, he had dialed Changmin’s number at least every 2 days, and even though he was supposed only to call Changmin to update him about Taepoong’s health, they ended up always talking about several things, always losing the time they had been on the phone.

Taepoong had been a little better, but he still wasn’t his normal self and that scared Yunho, especially if he wasn’t that much time around to check on him.

“Taeppongie! Where are you?” Yunho asked in a singing voice, as he entered the apartment. Damn, he felt really beaten, but he had to give Taepoong his medication. Only after that he could take a well-deserved bath and be off to sleep. Thank God Donghae had walked the dog earlier!

The Siberian husky came almost immediately, moving his tail happily at the sight of his owner, locking the door behind him, while he still carried his backpack. He howled slightly and Yunho patted him on the head.

“I missed you, too,” he told his dog affectionately.  He walked towards the kitchen and frowned at the sight of the husky’s plate. He had barely eaten something and according to his friend. He had had a bit of diarrhea. “I think I will take you to Junsu, tomorrow, he should be back by now…” Yunho mumbled to his dog, which was just beside him He would have called Changmin to ask if Junsu was back, but it was already 11pm and in Yunho’s book, you didn’t call people after 10pm maximum.

After Yunho had given Taepoong his medication, he was more than ready to start his warm bath! He undressed himself, just putting a towel around his waist. Yunho was about to get into the bathroom, when he heard Taepoong sneezing continuously.

He went in search of his still puppy and almost had a heart attack as he saw blood on the carpet of the living room. “Taepoongie!” He called out desperately, wanting to find his dog.

Behind on of the couches, there was Taepoongie. There was blood coming out of his nose, as he desperately sneezed, looking extremely afraid. Yunho’s first instinct reaction was to want to reach out for his dog and hug him, but after a second thought he ran to his bedroom and took his cell phone.

Now that he dialed the only person he hoped could help him, he kneeled down and reached for his scared dog, hugging him close and trying to reassure him that everything was going to be ok.

“Hello?” A sleepy voice answered from the other end.

“Changmin! I’m so sorry to disturb you at this time of the night but Taepoongie is bleeding! There’s a lot of blood coming out from his nose and it just doesn’t stop!” Yunho explained with desperation in his voice. “What do I do? I need your help!

“Give me your address,” Changmin responded hastily and Yunho quickly did as told. “Put some tissue in his nostrils while I get there, ok? I’ll call you when I’m outside, in 10 minutes top,” he added before hanging up.

Yunho got up and quickly proceeded to do exactly what Changmin had just told him. He grabbed some tissues from the kitchen and tried to put them in Taepoong’s nostrils. The dog fought against it, but in the end Yunho managed to do it just fine.

Those 10 minutes felt like hours for Yunho and the Siberian husky seemed more and more weak as time passed. When he heard his cell phone ring, he immediately pressed the button to open the entrance door and told Changmin that he was on the 5th floor, apartment 506 by the intercom.

By the time he opened the door of his apartment, he felt like hugging or kissing the guy. He was so glad that he was there, that meant Taepoongie was going to be ok, right?

“Thank God you’re here, Changmin!” Yunho exclaimed, actually doing what he wanted and hugging the boy in front of him. “Taepoong is here,” he added, grabbing one of Changmin’s hands, because the boy had a briefcase on the other one, and guiding him to the living room.

“Oh God,” Changmin mumbled to himself as he saw that a significant part of the living room was covered by the now clotted blood of the 7 months old dog. “This is not anemia,” he added. “We need to put him in a comfortable place.”

“My bed!” Yunho responded immediately. He carried Taepoong and walked towards his bedroom. Changmin followed him, noticing for the first time that Yunho was only wearing a towel. He shook his head and proceeded walking to said place.

Once they were there, he carefully laid the dog down on the mattress. “Now what?” Yunho asked.

Changmin put his briefcase over the nightstand table and opened it. “I’m gonna need your help. Yunho. Can you give me a belt? And put some clothes in the process?”

Yunho looked down at himself and gasped. He hadn’t realized he was only wearing a stained with blood towel over his waist. “Be right back,” he said, getting into his closet and grabbing the belt and grey sweat pants and a t-shirt. He gave the belt to Changmin and immediately disappeared into the bathroom.

The veterinarian student grabbed the belt and carefully placed it on the dog’s snout, making sure it was tight enough for his security but without hurting the animal.

Taepoong started moving. He looked at Changmin and tried to get the belt off of his snout with one of his paws, desperately.

“Calm down, Taepoongie. This is for your own good,” Changmin said, petting the dog.

Yunho came out of the bathroom fully dressed this time and looked at the young man. “What now?” He asked again.

“Help me controlling him. I’m gonna put a saline solution in him. So I need you to grab his leg tightly while I start, ok?” Changmin explained. He put out some stuff that Yunho had no idea what they were for, and the older man held tightly on Taepoong’s leg.

Changmin put a tourniquet on the dog’s leg and applied some antiseptic on the place he was going to start with the IV. Carefully Changmin introduced the catheter in the vein and put the saline solution. “I’m going to give him some vitamin K to stop the hemorrhage and a sedative so he can rest properly,” he said as he put the solution in a high place. He grabbed a syringe that contained a transparent liquid and injected it in the dropper, before supervising everything was just fine.

Yunho looked in awe. Changmin not only had beautiful bambi-like expressive eyes, plush lips, a perfect nose, silky skin, long gorgeous legs, a slim waist, dark wavy hair…he also had a great personality and was extremely smart. What there something this guy didn’t possess?

“I’m afraid you’ll have to check on him all night long,” Changmin said, bringing Yunho back to reality. “Thinking about it…maybe your bed wasn’t such a good idea. Your wife is gonna be angry.”

Yunho laughed. “I don’t have a wife so there’s no problem at all,” he replied.

Changmin looked at him with a confused expression. “But you said you were going to get married the first time we met and I’m positive I saw you with a beautiful woman some time ago at a club.”

“Were you stalking me, Changminnie?” Yunho smirked. Changmin suddenly sat on the floor and Yunho did the same, taking the spot right beside him. “She was BoA, just a new friend. I am currently married with Jaejoong. That guy over there in that picture,” he explained, pointing at the only framed picture he still had of his husband, hanging on the wall.

“He’s gorgeous…with all respect of course,” Changmin said, as he stared at the picture for a few seconds. He had expected that the person sharing their life with Yunho would be good looking, since Yunho was a very handsome man, but he hadn’t expected it to be that beautiful. Changmin shrugged, starting to feel uncomfortable all of a sudden.

Yunho smiled. “I know he is. But we’re not together anymore…I mean we haven’t divorced, but he kinda left me for a doctor and is currently living in Tokyo,” he explained, trying to look at all places but Changmin. Talking about what his husband had done to him to Changmin made it…more real than ever.

Changmin felt his heart skip a beat, and he started to feel like the worst person in the world. He could only imagine how that had hurt Yunho, and he knew he should be feeling bad for Yunho, but for some unknown reason…he actually felt glad…

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled out. “I think I better get going.”

Yunho turned to look at him. “Why don’t you stay the night? It’s kinda late,” he offered.

Changmin gulped. “Ok…it is late and you could use some help with Taepoong after all,” he said more to himself than to Yunho.

A/N: I hope this is not turning out boring! :) More HoMin action coming soon!

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