where one meets the other
where one meets the other
pre-debut
bandfic, jaechun if you squint.
pg, 1509 wc
something we've all wanted.
join/watch
an. hiatus is over. sorry it's the end of december and not november like i said. please tell me if something looks funny with either the story or formatting. thank you ( : ♥
Jaejoong has this theory that there are a hundred or more ways to love something, and one of his favourites is loving a place that he can hang onto and live into. Dong Bang Shin Ki has a name, they’re debuting next week, and Jaejoong’s up on the roof for fresh air. They’ve been practicing for the last six hours, and the weather is the kind that clings to skin and lips, even this late. The city’s too bright for watching stars, but Jaejoong’s keeping an eye out for comets. His feet dangle over the street and noisy nightlife below, imitating the shapes of car exhaust in rises and falls. Behind him, the roof door creaks on its hinges, stirred by a dry breeze. This time next week they’ll have finished their first performance. Jaejoong absently snubs out the last of his cigarette, and gets to his feet. It’s almost time to get back to practice, but he wants to make this moment last just a few seconds longer. Inside, Yoochun calls, ‘Jaejoong?’
Jaejoong lingers, wondering that if he waits long enough, everything will just find him without him having to look under every stone in the country for it first. Something to love. Yoochun says, ‘Jae?’ just behind him, and Jaejoong turns around and says, ‘I’m here.’
The day before Jaejoong signs up to be a singer, he wastes away the afternoon underneath the ceiling fan, imagining fame and feeling like he’s being weighed down. The darkness of the couch could swallow him, arms draped over the side and knees pulled up. Overhead, the fan squeaks with every turn, the sunlight meeting the floor in revolving shafts. The colour of the light is dim and bruising through half-closed eyes. Even with the windows flung open, the room is stifling, walls folding inwards, compressing. The horizon outside is growing heavier with the clouds that have taken hours to get there, smudging the skyline. This part of Seoul is over-congested and cramped, traffic permanently stuck at five pm peak, high in humidity.
Jaejoong’d rented the apartment out only a couple of weeks ago, and he hasn’t been here long enough to be able to say home and not mean someplace else. He's moved half a dozen times in the last year alone, until every house and apartment feels like an old dream that he has to fight to remember. The pigeons on his neighbour’s roof flutter, blurred amongst the satellite dishes. It starts to rain. Jaejoong thinks about singing on stage and a band he barely knows. He’s suddenly hungry for contact and walks out onto the verandah, where the outer edge of the floorboards is already damp. It’s still warm, and dust settles on the ground in filters. There’s thunder in the distance. Jaejoong stays there, listening to the rain and his own breathing, imagining what it would sound like in time to four others.
The pen is in his hand. Jaejoong can only guess at what he’s signing up for. His own name has never been harder to write than now. He spent most of last night wondering about what would happen if they don’t make it, ten year contract of making cheap music and entertainment. The rest of him is sold and spent on the dream of getting up there and having people say his name and love it. Last night his heartbeats had been so loud he couldn't hear anything but them, so fast that he felt like he'd run for miles. Later he’ll look over his shoulder for this moment and see a road where it should be, maps instead of years. The pen is on the paper, pressing hard, making a stain. The room walls are settling into place around him, and Jaejoong can only guess at what the rest of the world is doing. No regrets, he mouths, and signs.
First impressions weigh less than lifetimes. Jaejoong judges by time. Kim Junsu’s laughter is catchy, and the texture of his voice reminds Jaejoong of proximity, another person to walk beside. Shim Changmin calls everyone hyung and does his chemistry homework over dinner, rice bowl leaving circles on the pages of his textbook. Jung Yunho tries the hardest out of all of them, sings, dances, leads, and works himself to exhaustion every second day or so. Park Yoochun keeps all his fears and safeties to himself and is more than a little clingy, especially in early mornings, a hand on Jaejoong’s back or fingers over his wrist.
They move into the band dorm. Someone, and Jaejoong suspects Yunho, who's fast with text messages and has way too many trainee friends for his own good, invites most of the company over for a homewarming party. It goes on till early morning, until it's just the five of them lazing about on the living room floor. There's a chick flick on the tv that no one's watching except for Junsu, who says it's cute, and Changmin, who says it's soppy. The AC stops working at some point, but the cool air stays around for a little longer. Jaejoong remembers the sweets that his mother had sent him a week earlier, and passes the packet around. Yunho demands their attention, 'watch this guys, I bet I can get three in a row,' and shows off how he can catch the boiled ones with his teeth. Yoochun only eats the red ones, and shares a lollipop with Jaejoong, passing it back and forth until their mouths have turned the same colour of new cherries.
There are stacks of opened presents and wrapping paper on the floor where they start falling asleep one by one, starting with Junsu, who sleeps like a kitten, curled up in front of the tv screen. Changmin says, 'I'm so sure I'm not going to sleep tonight,' about five times before he does. Yunho finds blankets for them, puts on a new dvd, and nods off a minute or so later with his head against Changmin's knees.
Jaejoong drifts in and out. He opens his eyes during the credits of the movie, volume turned down low. He rolls over, still moving out of habit and expecting to see a clock on the wall of his old apartment, before remembering where he is in the now and present. They haven't had time for decorating, and the walls are empty, the lights fluorescent and humming. Yoochun's still awake, chronic insomniac, sucking on a bright red sweet. 'Hey,' he says.
Jaejoong yawns, pushing his toes into Yoochun's side, 'what time is it?'
Yoochun always wears a cheap watch on his left wrist, where he swears he'll get tattooed once he's old enough. He turns it around so that Jaejoong can see the face. 'Dinner time,' he says.
'I can make jjigae if you're hungry.'
'I was joking.'
'Jackass,' Jaejoong says, idling. He holds a palm to the ceiling; the glow of the overhead gets through the gaps in his fingers. 'Can you get the lights?'
'Love you too,' says Yoochun, and turns out the lights.
Two hours before they get on stage, Yunho convinces their manager to free up some extra time for a break. It’s not long enough to go anywhere, so they just hang around the dorm balcony, drinking bottled water and pushing each other around. Junsu can’t stop singing ten year old love songs. The sky’s clear tonight, and Jaejoong can see every headlamp streak across the nearest overpass. Their neighbours from a few doors down are holding a dinner party, light spilling over to them in bands and veins. Yunho is making up introductions to the city: ‘hello, we’re Dong Bang Shin Ki. We’re going to work hard to be Asia’s best band. Please support us…hello, we’re Dong Bang Shin Ki.’ Changmin is beside him on a deck chair sending voice messages to everyone he knows. He’s taller than ever and has to pull his feet up to let Jaejoong pass.
Yoochun looks up when Jaejoong nudges his shoulder. He smiles, ‘Nervous?’
Jaejoong lets his wrists hang over the railing next to Yoochun’s. ‘What do you think?’ Their hands are lit up in red and gold from the traffic below, fingers spread out like fireworks.
‘My ESP is out of order today,’ Yoochun says. ‘Tell me.’
Jaejoong says, ‘I think we’ll make it big.’
‘Yeah?’
‘Yeah.’ They’re quiet for a minute, Jaejoong leaning out further and swallowing. 'Wish I could see the future,' he says.
To their right, Junsu finishes his song, out of breath, laughing. Changmin applauds him with both hands and feet, and gets tackled by Junsu two seconds later. Yunho jumps up and shouts at the sky, 'we are Dong Bang Shin Ki!'
Yoochun says, 'we're gonna be okay.'
In a little more than an hour, they'll have debuted. Jaejoong will be first off the stage, but he'll look back and instead of seeing the audience and cameras, he'll see the rest of his band, and he’ll realize that everything he’s been looking for, is right here.
pre-debut
bandfic, jaechun if you squint.
pg, 1509 wc
something we've all wanted.
join/watch
an. hiatus is over. sorry it's the end of december and not november like i said. please tell me if something looks funny with either the story or formatting. thank you ( : ♥
Jaejoong has this theory that there are a hundred or more ways to love something, and one of his favourites is loving a place that he can hang onto and live into. Dong Bang Shin Ki has a name, they’re debuting next week, and Jaejoong’s up on the roof for fresh air. They’ve been practicing for the last six hours, and the weather is the kind that clings to skin and lips, even this late. The city’s too bright for watching stars, but Jaejoong’s keeping an eye out for comets. His feet dangle over the street and noisy nightlife below, imitating the shapes of car exhaust in rises and falls. Behind him, the roof door creaks on its hinges, stirred by a dry breeze. This time next week they’ll have finished their first performance. Jaejoong absently snubs out the last of his cigarette, and gets to his feet. It’s almost time to get back to practice, but he wants to make this moment last just a few seconds longer. Inside, Yoochun calls, ‘Jaejoong?’
Jaejoong lingers, wondering that if he waits long enough, everything will just find him without him having to look under every stone in the country for it first. Something to love. Yoochun says, ‘Jae?’ just behind him, and Jaejoong turns around and says, ‘I’m here.’
The day before Jaejoong signs up to be a singer, he wastes away the afternoon underneath the ceiling fan, imagining fame and feeling like he’s being weighed down. The darkness of the couch could swallow him, arms draped over the side and knees pulled up. Overhead, the fan squeaks with every turn, the sunlight meeting the floor in revolving shafts. The colour of the light is dim and bruising through half-closed eyes. Even with the windows flung open, the room is stifling, walls folding inwards, compressing. The horizon outside is growing heavier with the clouds that have taken hours to get there, smudging the skyline. This part of Seoul is over-congested and cramped, traffic permanently stuck at five pm peak, high in humidity.
Jaejoong’d rented the apartment out only a couple of weeks ago, and he hasn’t been here long enough to be able to say home and not mean someplace else. He's moved half a dozen times in the last year alone, until every house and apartment feels like an old dream that he has to fight to remember. The pigeons on his neighbour’s roof flutter, blurred amongst the satellite dishes. It starts to rain. Jaejoong thinks about singing on stage and a band he barely knows. He’s suddenly hungry for contact and walks out onto the verandah, where the outer edge of the floorboards is already damp. It’s still warm, and dust settles on the ground in filters. There’s thunder in the distance. Jaejoong stays there, listening to the rain and his own breathing, imagining what it would sound like in time to four others.
The pen is in his hand. Jaejoong can only guess at what he’s signing up for. His own name has never been harder to write than now. He spent most of last night wondering about what would happen if they don’t make it, ten year contract of making cheap music and entertainment. The rest of him is sold and spent on the dream of getting up there and having people say his name and love it. Last night his heartbeats had been so loud he couldn't hear anything but them, so fast that he felt like he'd run for miles. Later he’ll look over his shoulder for this moment and see a road where it should be, maps instead of years. The pen is on the paper, pressing hard, making a stain. The room walls are settling into place around him, and Jaejoong can only guess at what the rest of the world is doing. No regrets, he mouths, and signs.
First impressions weigh less than lifetimes. Jaejoong judges by time. Kim Junsu’s laughter is catchy, and the texture of his voice reminds Jaejoong of proximity, another person to walk beside. Shim Changmin calls everyone hyung and does his chemistry homework over dinner, rice bowl leaving circles on the pages of his textbook. Jung Yunho tries the hardest out of all of them, sings, dances, leads, and works himself to exhaustion every second day or so. Park Yoochun keeps all his fears and safeties to himself and is more than a little clingy, especially in early mornings, a hand on Jaejoong’s back or fingers over his wrist.
They move into the band dorm. Someone, and Jaejoong suspects Yunho, who's fast with text messages and has way too many trainee friends for his own good, invites most of the company over for a homewarming party. It goes on till early morning, until it's just the five of them lazing about on the living room floor. There's a chick flick on the tv that no one's watching except for Junsu, who says it's cute, and Changmin, who says it's soppy. The AC stops working at some point, but the cool air stays around for a little longer. Jaejoong remembers the sweets that his mother had sent him a week earlier, and passes the packet around. Yunho demands their attention, 'watch this guys, I bet I can get three in a row,' and shows off how he can catch the boiled ones with his teeth. Yoochun only eats the red ones, and shares a lollipop with Jaejoong, passing it back and forth until their mouths have turned the same colour of new cherries.
There are stacks of opened presents and wrapping paper on the floor where they start falling asleep one by one, starting with Junsu, who sleeps like a kitten, curled up in front of the tv screen. Changmin says, 'I'm so sure I'm not going to sleep tonight,' about five times before he does. Yunho finds blankets for them, puts on a new dvd, and nods off a minute or so later with his head against Changmin's knees.
Jaejoong drifts in and out. He opens his eyes during the credits of the movie, volume turned down low. He rolls over, still moving out of habit and expecting to see a clock on the wall of his old apartment, before remembering where he is in the now and present. They haven't had time for decorating, and the walls are empty, the lights fluorescent and humming. Yoochun's still awake, chronic insomniac, sucking on a bright red sweet. 'Hey,' he says.
Jaejoong yawns, pushing his toes into Yoochun's side, 'what time is it?'
Yoochun always wears a cheap watch on his left wrist, where he swears he'll get tattooed once he's old enough. He turns it around so that Jaejoong can see the face. 'Dinner time,' he says.
'I can make jjigae if you're hungry.'
'I was joking.'
'Jackass,' Jaejoong says, idling. He holds a palm to the ceiling; the glow of the overhead gets through the gaps in his fingers. 'Can you get the lights?'
'Love you too,' says Yoochun, and turns out the lights.
Two hours before they get on stage, Yunho convinces their manager to free up some extra time for a break. It’s not long enough to go anywhere, so they just hang around the dorm balcony, drinking bottled water and pushing each other around. Junsu can’t stop singing ten year old love songs. The sky’s clear tonight, and Jaejoong can see every headlamp streak across the nearest overpass. Their neighbours from a few doors down are holding a dinner party, light spilling over to them in bands and veins. Yunho is making up introductions to the city: ‘hello, we’re Dong Bang Shin Ki. We’re going to work hard to be Asia’s best band. Please support us…hello, we’re Dong Bang Shin Ki.’ Changmin is beside him on a deck chair sending voice messages to everyone he knows. He’s taller than ever and has to pull his feet up to let Jaejoong pass.
Yoochun looks up when Jaejoong nudges his shoulder. He smiles, ‘Nervous?’
Jaejoong lets his wrists hang over the railing next to Yoochun’s. ‘What do you think?’ Their hands are lit up in red and gold from the traffic below, fingers spread out like fireworks.
‘My ESP is out of order today,’ Yoochun says. ‘Tell me.’
Jaejoong says, ‘I think we’ll make it big.’
‘Yeah?’
‘Yeah.’ They’re quiet for a minute, Jaejoong leaning out further and swallowing. 'Wish I could see the future,' he says.
To their right, Junsu finishes his song, out of breath, laughing. Changmin applauds him with both hands and feet, and gets tackled by Junsu two seconds later. Yunho jumps up and shouts at the sky, 'we are Dong Bang Shin Ki!'
Yoochun says, 'we're gonna be okay.'
In a little more than an hour, they'll have debuted. Jaejoong will be first off the stage, but he'll look back and instead of seeing the audience and cameras, he'll see the rest of his band, and he’ll realize that everything he’s been looking for, is right here.