TVXQ; Baggage; NC-17; JaeChun
Title: Baggage (1/2)
Author: omen1x2
Rating: NC-17 (eventually)
Fandom: DBSK/TVXQ
Pairing: JaeChun, YooSu bff!ery, broken!YunJae, luggage cart!JaeChunSu
Disclaimer: Like all fanfic writers, I twist reality to please me.
Summary: Because to me, there’s nothing in this world quite as adorable as Jaejoong, Yoochun, and Junsu riding around on a luggage cart. AU.
Baggage
By Omen-chan
Jaejoong was annoyed. No, he certainly wasn’t upset, he told himself. He was simply annoyed. This was not the sort of situation to get upset over.
“Could anyone please tell me exactly what happened here?” he asked, flawlessly polite, as he eyed the carnage before him.
An adorable bellhop, semi-apologetic grin firmly in place, scrambled to his feet and bowed. “So sorry! We were just, um… We were just…” The red of his cap was completely overshadowed by the red of his blush as he tried to come up with something.
“Junsu ah!” The luggage cart behind the bellhop shook, making more of Jaejoong’s suitcases tumble off of it. “Help me!”
Junsu gave Jaejoong another apologetic smile and ran over to the luggage cart, pulling it off of another bellhop (this one in understandably worse shape than the other). The very last of Jaejoong’s luggage that had managed to stay in place toppled to the floor. Jaejoong watched them go with a sigh that suggested the worst was already over, and decided to lend a hand.
As Junsu tried to remedy matters by piling suitcases back onto the luggage cart, Jaejoong reached down to help up the prostrate bellhop.
“Great, thanks, “ the man muttered, and turned to fix a glare at his coworker. “I could have died, you know.”
Junsu didn’t even bother pausing. “Ooooh, bullshit.”
Jaejoong startled. He didn’t usually hear language like that out of the employees at high class hotels. Certainly not in front of customers.
“What bullshit?” the other man responded. “It landed on top of me! And you didn’t care!”
“I’ve never heard of anyone dying from a luggage cart landing on them.”
“It was full! I could have suffocated!”
“You’re too full of hot air to suffocate.”
Jaejoong blinked, and then covered a laugh with his hand. This really was moving beyond an annoying situation to a surreal and vastly entertaining one.
The two bellhops finally seemed to really notice Jaejoong’s presence, and stopped mid-argument.
“Hey, don’t mind me. This is hilarious. You should be a comedy team.” Jaejoong didn’t wait to see their reactions, and bent down to start gathering his luggage himself.
“Ah, shit!” Junsu’s voice squeaked. “No, I mean, ugh! Sorry!”
“What Junsu is trying to say…” A smooth voice spoke right against Jaejoong’s ear. It seemed to send tingling vibrations straight down his spine. Very distracting. “… Is that we really can’t allow a guest to clean up our own mess.”
Jaejoong cleared his throat, fighting the blush he can feel rise up his neck. He doesn’t dare look up. “No, it’s okay. It’s my stuff anyway.”
Junsu squawked, surprised into laughter. “What, all of it? We thought it was another boring delegation of old fogies’.”
The voice moved away from Jaejoong’s ear, and he couldn’t decide if it bothered him or not. “Oh, come on, Junsu. Can’t you recognize a celebrity when you see one?”
Jaejoong scowled, annoyed again.
~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~
Flopping back onto his bed, Jaejoong stared up at the ceiling and wondered why he was in such a bad mood. Normally, a little thing like hotel staff playing with his luggage wouldn’t bother him (provided they weren’t snooping through it or anything), but his initial response had been annoyance. He may have calmed himself down afterwards, but that sort of reaction just wasn’t like him.
And after that bellhop had mentioned he was a celebrity, he’d gotten annoyed all over again. Why? He was used to being recognized, and although he didn’t always like it, he never really-
His musings were interrupted by someone knocking at his door. Rolling to his feet with a groan, he ambled over and opened it onto the smiling face of the smooth-voiced bellhop, with his friend beaming at him from over his shoulder.
“Hello! Yeah, sorry about earlier. We brought the rest of your things.”
Jaejoong checked the man’s nametag automatically. Park Yoochun.
“Yeah, thanks. Um. You don’t have to bring them in. I’ll take care of it later.”
The two friends wore matching perplexed looks.
“You can just leave it all out there,” Jaejoong continued, beginning to feel flustered.
“Hmm… Okay…” Yoochun turned to exchange a long look with his friend, and then started to walk off.
Junsu lingered for a moment. “Hey, you okay? I mean, really, sorry about your stuff and everything, and it wasn’t Yoochun’s fault. Okay, I mean, it was Yoochun’s fault because he suggested it but-”
Jaejoong grinned. He couldn’t help it. “Suggested what?”
“Oh, well, we were riding the luggage cart. It was awesome. Until it fell over, anyway.”
Jaejoong choked on a laugh. “Riding… the luggage cart?”
“Yeah, totally! But yeah, you’re not mad or anything are you? I mean, it’s late and we usually don’t get customers walking down the hallway at this hour - totally your fault it fell over, by the way, you surprised us - and we usually race them, but we could only get ahold of one, so Yoochun suggested we just ride it like that and…”
It hadn’t taken Jaejoong long to catch onto the fact that the only way to get Junsu to stop talking was to interrupt him. “Hey, it’s okay! Really. I’m sorry I caused you two to capsize.”
“No, no biggie. Better you than management. So are you sure you don’t need help bringing in all your stuff, crazy clothes-horse celebrity person?”
“Yeah, I’m sure.” For some reason, he looked down the hallway, towards the elevator.
“Well, if you don’t want me, I could always get Yoochun for you.”
Jaejoong’s head snapped back. “What?”
Junsu grinned, pure innocence. “Oh, nothing. Just thinking out loud.”
Clearing his throat, Jaejoong floundered as he tried to change the subject. “So. Um. Why were you riding the luggage cart?”
“Didn’t I say? Because it’s awesome!”
“No, I meant-”
Junsu waved a hand. “Yeah, I get it. Yoochun was trying to distract me. Bad break-up.”
Jaejoong shifted, feeling a little uncomfortable at the personal route the conversation took. “Oh. Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”
“Hey, it’s cool. I’m okay with it now. Nothing better for a bad break-up than to ride around on a luggage cart! And at least it didn’t fall on me.” Junsu laughed, bowed, and then waved as he strode down the hall to the elevator.
Moving to close the door, he paused as he glanced over at the luggage cart, still filled with his bags.
Nothing better for a bad break-up…
~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~
Peals of joyous laughter rang down the hallways as Jaejoong raced the luggage cart down the corridor. He’d already fallen off twice, his ass was sore, and his hair was a mess, but Jaejoong hadn’t felt like this in ages. His mind was wonderfully blank as he shifted to the other side of the luggage cart to ride it back to the other end.
Closing his eyes, Jaejoong took a deep breath and felt the joy of just existing for a few precious, perfect seconds…
Before he came back to earth with a very literal crash.
“Owwwwww…”
Jaejoong groaned and pushed himself up. After a minute, he realized that not all of the pained noises were his, and he looked around.
“This is the second time today a luggage cart has landed on me…”
Wincing, Jaejoong looked immediately down, already knowing who it was. “Yoochun…”
Opening his eyes at the husky whisper of his name, Yoochun managed to stop groaning long enough to smile, dark eyes crinkling, and Jaejoong felt it like a punch in the chest.
A moment passed when Yoochun decided no more conversation was forthcoming, so he said, “You know, luggage carts on the chest really are terribly uncomfortable.”
“Sorry!” Jaejoong clambered to his feet hurriedly and pulled the luggage cart upright.
Yoochun sat up and shook his head, as if dislodging a fly, then checked himself over for injuries.
“You okay?” Jaejoong asked softly as he sat down next to him.
Looking up with another gut-wrenching smile, Yoochun replied, “Yeah, everything seems to be in its proper place. No missing organs, broken bones, or internal bleeding. Although I’m sure it didn’t help the Technicolor display of bruises I got from my earlier run-in with a luggage cart.”
Jaejoong looked Yoochun over carefully. “I don’t see any bruises.”
“I should hope not. I could get arrested if they were visible,” Yoochun said with a leer.
An answering smile played around Jaejoong’s lips. “But not fired? What a great place to work.”
“You better believe it! We have nude Fridays. You should see it.”
“Today’s Friday.”
“Well, then you better get naked already.”
“Oh, do they make guests participate?”
“Only the pretty ones. That goes for employees too, which is why you didn’t see Junsu naked earlier.”
Jaejoong laughed and lightly slapped Yoochun’s shoulder as he stood. “Come on, help me pick up all my shit, will you? This is going to be a nightmare to clean up by myself.”
~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~
Jaejoong watched as Yoochun sat down at the edge of his bed, and then turned back to the refrigerator. “Any preferences? Vodka? Gin?” He dug further and his brow furrowed. “Apple juice? What’s that doing in here?”
Yoochun laughed and scooted back on the bed until his back rested against the headboard. He kicked off his shoes and tucked his feet underneath himself, taking off his bellhop cap and tossing it somewhere in the general direction of his shoes. “What, you don’t want to pay ten thousand won for a bottle of apple juice?”
Jaejoong grabbed two small bottles of vodka and turned around. “Not really. That’s what vending machines are for.”
“To pay ten thousand won for beverages? What vending machines are you going to? And I think you can afford it anyway, super-cheap pop star.”
Wrinkling his nose, Jaejoong walked over to his bed and held the bottles over his head. “Just for that, I don’t think I’m going to give you any.”
“What? No!” Yoochun scrambled to his knees and held his hands out plaintively. “I’ll be good, really.”
“How good?”
Yoochun smiled lazily, eyes half shut as he looked up at Jaejoong. “Really good.”
Jaejoong pretended to consider for a while, and then caved, handing Yoochun the bottle as he sat down next to him. “Well, I guess that’ll have to do. I would prefer perfect.”
“Hey, I can do perfect. But perfect’s boring.”
Jaejoong found himself nodding as he bent over to unlace his shoes. “Yeah, I guess it is.” He can’t hide the weariness in his voice. “Why would anyone want that?”
There was a long pause as Yoochun popped open his bottle and took a sip. “Want to talk about it?”
Glancing over, Jaejoong found Yoochun seemingly talking to his vodka. “Um?”
“I mean, I know it’s all over the news and everything, and you’re probably sick of everyone knowing about it, but I just thought… You seemed like you needed to talk about it. But if you don’t, that’s cool.”
“I don’t,” Jaejoong said coldly, eyes narrowed. At Yoochun’s expectant nod, Jaejoong thawed a little, continuing as he reached for his own bottle and opening it. “Or at least, not until I get fantastically drunk.”
~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~
“The problem was me,” Jaejoong slurred. He was on his back, head hanging off the edge of the bed, with Yoochun’s feet in his lap.
“Everybody says that.”
“No, really. It was me. Never any spon- spen- I never did anything interesting. Boring, like you said.”
“I didn’t say you were.”
“No, but. Um. Perfect, right? That’s what everyone says. And that’s boring.”
Yoochun’s voice seemed to rub over Jaejoong’s skin like a massage. “You’re perfect, but you’re not boring. Boring people don’t ride around on luggage carts. Did he ever ride around on a luggage cart?”
“Hmm. No, I don’t think so.” He started to laugh.
“What?”
Jaejoong covered his mouth with his fist. “It sure would be funny if he did, though.”
“Because he’s too perfect to do anything spontaneous?”
Jaejoong shoved himself up enough to glare at Yoochun, partially for the implication, partially because Yoochun apparently wasn’t drunk enough to forget the word. “Hey, how many have you had?”
“Hmmm?” That innocent act wasn’t fooling Jaejoong a bit.
“You. Drinks. How many?”
“Six.”
“Gulps, or bottles?”
Yoochun just smiled.
“Yeah, I thought so. Bastard.”
“I thought it might help if one of us knew what he was talking about.”
~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~
“So you don’t think it was my fault?”
“I know it wasn’t your fault.”
They’d moved again. This time, Jaejoong’s feet hung off the end of the bed, and Yoochun’s feet touched the headboard. Their heads rested on each other’s shoulders, and the thought kept flittering across Jaejoong’s mind that if they moved just a little, they could be kissing.
“How the hell would you know that?”
“Well, he cheated on you, didn’t he?”
“But if I’d been better-”
“Shut up. You’re being stupid.”
“You’re stupid.”
Turning his head, Yoochun flicked a quick smile at Jaejoong. Jaejoong was starting to get used to the way those smiles made his stomach flip, but he still missed the beginning of Yoochun’s next sentence.
“-Because you’re perfect.”
Well, that wasn’t such a bad place to start listening. “Um?”
Yoochun heaved a sigh; air hit Jaejoong in the cheek. “I said, it’s stupid to believe people when they say you’re boring because you’re perfect.”
The words hit Jaejoong right between the eyes, and he sat up too quickly. “How’d you know that?” he muttered as he waited for the room to stop spinning.
“I didn’t. Not really. But the context was pretty clear.” Yoochun sat up with him and wrapped an arm around Jaejoong’s shoulders. “You’re an easy guy to read.”
“Liar. Am not.”
“Well, you’re an easy guy to read when you’re drunk and heartbroken, then.”
“Not that either.”
Yoochun raised an eyebrow. “Really? Sure could have fooled me.”
It somehow seemed very important to Jaejoong that he made that clear. “Not heartbroken. That’s why it’s my fault.”
“Oh, I see. You’re not upset enough over the break-up to have loved him in the first place, is that it?”
Jaejoong nodded, pleased. He knew Yoochun would understand.
“And I suppose Yunho was just crying buckets while he fucked someone in your bed.”
Jaejoong frowned. “That’s not-”
“Oh, hush.” Yoochun tucked his chin onto Jaejoong’s shoulder and pulled him closer. Jaejoong took a deep breath. Yoochun smelled like vodka and deodorant and strawberry conditioner. “Not everything’s your fault, you know. You don’t have to carry the world on your shoulders.”
“I-”
“And you’re perfect, but you’re certainly not boring. You’re… you’re just perfect.”
Blushing hotly now, Jaejoong muttered, “Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s rude to interrupt?”
“Yeah, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with interrupting stupidity.”
“You include stupidity in your definition of perfection?”
“Only with you. You’ve perfected stupidity.” Yoochun blew hot air into Jaejoong’s ear, and Jaejoong shivered.
“Is that supposed to be a compliment?”
“I don’t know. Did it sound like one?”
Jaejoong shifted until his back was pressed against Yoochun’s front. Yoochun pulled his legs up so that Jaejoong could rest his elbows on his knees.
“I can’t tell. It sounded like it could be both.”
“Well, maybe it was both, then. Words can be more than one thing.”
Feeling like this entire conversation might have more than one meaning, Jaejoong reached back and slid his hand down Yoochun’s arm until he caught his wrist and pulled it around. He slid his fingers through Yoochun’s, cupping Yoochun’s hand in his palm.
“People can be more than one thing, too,” Yoochun breathed into his ear.
Jaejoong nodded.
~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~
Sitting up against the headboard, Jaejoong pouted as Yoochun talked to Junsu over his cell phone. “Yeah. Yeah. Okay, I get it already. I’ll be down in a few.” Yoochun hung up on Junsu’s loud squawk and turned to Jaejoong, running a hand through his hair. “Sorry. The boss has been by a few times, and Junsu’s been covering for me, but the boss is starting to get suspicious, and Junsu’s starting to panic.”
Despite Yoochun’s work clothes, Jaejoong had completely forgotten that Yoochun was an employee at the hotel, and, moreover, someone he’d just met a few hours ago. The whole time they were talking, Jaejoong had felt like Yoochun was an old friend that was trying to help him through a shitty break-up. “Yeah. Okay.”
Yoochun leaned forward suddenly and pressed his forehead against Jaejoong’s. “I get off in four hours.”
Jaejoong smirked back at him. “Are you asking me out?”
“Maybe. What do you say? Me, you, a bottle of wine, your room in four hours?”
“Sleaze. Don’t I get a proper first date?”
“I dunno. What would make it proper? Flowers?”
Jaejoong shoved Yoochun away and stuck his tongue out at him. “Ugh, as if. I’m not a girl.”
Yoochun laughed and climbed off the bed, grabbing his shoes and looking around for his cap. “Sure could have fooled me, the way you were talking.”
Spotting the cap first, Jaejoong rolled off the bed and threw it at Yoochun’s grinning face.
“Don’t forget to take off your clothes.”
Yoochun stared, and Jaejoong felt quite satisfied when he saw the beginnings of a blush creep up Yoochun’s neck. Served him right for all the times Yoochun had done it, even in just the few hours they’d known each other.
“Nude Friday, remember? Only the pretty ones get to be naked.”
Yoochun finally recovered enough to understand the implication, and he grinned at Jaejoong as he pulled on his cap and headed out the door.
~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~
He brought flowers. And Junsu.
Junsu bounded into the room as soon as Jaejoong opened it, leaving Yoochun to give Jaejoong an apologetic shrug as he thrust the flowers into Jaejoong’s arms. “I couldn’t shake him. I think he has some sort of tracking device on me. One day, I’ll find it and finally escape his evil clutches.”
Junsu ignored Yoochun and pulled the two of them apart. “I thought you guys might need a chaperone, since Jaejoong sshi sent you back to work drunk.”
Indignant, Yoochun sputtered, “I most certainly was not!”
Jaejoong nodded. “It’s true. He’s the one that got me drunk.”
“Well, regardless. Someone got someone else drunk and Yoochun came back to work smelling like alcohol. Therefore, a chaperone was needed.”
“Junsu, you’re such a liar. You just wanted to see Jaejoong’s suite.”
“Any added bonus is entirely coincidental and has nothing to do with the situation at hand.”
Yoochun leaned close to Jaejoong and whispered. “I say we get him drunk and shove him out into the hallway.”
~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~
Junsu would have said it was Yoochun’s idea. Yoochun would have said it was Jaejoong’s. Jaejoong knew they were both wrong, because it had totally been Junsu’s idea.
“Whoooooooo!”
“Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!”
Crash!
~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~
Yoochun poked the bent pipe with his toe. “I think it’s broken.”
“We are soooooo dead,” Junsu groaned, covering his face with his hands.
Jaejoong whimpered from underneath the broken luggage cart. “Help?”
As they carefully helped the wounded pop star, Yoochun hissed, “Junsu, you are the world’s worst chaperone.”
~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~
Jaejoong curled in a chair, watching the two friends wrestle on his bed and trying not to be jealous.
“Damn it, Yoochun, it’s MINE!”
“No way! In what universe?!”
“In this one! Because I say so!” Junsu crowed as he emerged from under his friend, trophy in hand. “Ha! Victory!”
Yoochun pouted and wrapped his arms around his legs. “Your English sucks.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Junsu gibed as he opened the last bottle from the mini-bar. “I still win.”
Smiling slightly as he watched their banter, Jaejoong silently wondered how much his hotel bill was going to be, and then decided it didn’t matter.
After the fiasco with the broken luggage cart, Yoochun and Junsu had decided the best option was to hide out in Jaejoong’s room and get drunk(er), until it was simply impossible for them to walk to the elevator, let alone drive home.
Jaejoong laughed as he went to find some ice. He’d certainly had worse dates.
He gave Junsu a baleful look that was blithely ignored.
Even with a chaperone.
~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~
Jaejoong woke with a killer hangover.
Yoochun woke with an even worse one.
Junsu wanted to die.
The three of them lay curled together, warm on the sun-drenched bed, and none of them were in the condition to appreciate it.
“What mother-fucking idiot person forgot to close the god-damn blinds?”
~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~
“I hate you. I hate you all.”
Yoochun smiled as he curled further into Jaejoong’s chest. “I don’t remember forcing you to drink last night.”
Jaejoong nodded and added, “In fact, I vividly remember you fighting Yoochun over the last bottle.”
“I don’t remember that. I think you’re lying.”
“Okay, then,” Yoochun said with a yawn, and covered his eyes with a hand. “We got you drunk enough so you’d pass out, and had sex on your back while you were sleeping. Close the blinds on your way out.”
Grumbling, Junsu stalked over to the window and yanked the curtains shut. He tried to straighten his crumpled uniform as he headed for the door. “Stupid Yoochun with his stupid day off,” he mumbled to himself. “Stupid gorgeous pop stars that side with Yoochun over everything. They deserve each other.”
He made sure to slam the door on his way out.
~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~
They didn’t wake up again until much later, to the sound of Jaejoong’s cell phone buzzing in their ears. Jaejoong blinked open his eyes and turned his head. How on earth had it gotten there? Shrugging, he moved to grab it, and then froze as he saw the name.
Yoochun wrinkled his nose adorably, feeling Jaejoong tense underneath him, and tilted his head up to look at him. “Hmmm?” His eyes narrowed as he took in his friend’s expression, and he didn’t have to look at the cell phone in order to see what the problem was. “Ignore it.”
“What?” Jaejoong frowned down at Yoochun. His hand still hadn’t moved, either to bring the phone closer, or to move it away.
“Don’t answer. Why put yourself through something like that again?”
Jaejoong chewed on his lower lip. “It might be something important. It might not have anything to do with… what happened.”
“What else could it be about?”
Jaejoong didn’t have an answer.
They both watched the phone until it stopped buzzing.
Part Two
A/N: This was originally just going to be a one-shot, but as time went on, I realized there was no way I’d be able to finish it before I went to bed, and I wanted to post something. Hopefully I'll finish the rest tomorrow.
Author: omen1x2
Rating: NC-17 (eventually)
Fandom: DBSK/TVXQ
Pairing: JaeChun, YooSu bff!ery, broken!YunJae, luggage cart!JaeChunSu
Disclaimer: Like all fanfic writers, I twist reality to please me.
Summary: Because to me, there’s nothing in this world quite as adorable as Jaejoong, Yoochun, and Junsu riding around on a luggage cart. AU.
Baggage
By Omen-chan
Jaejoong was annoyed. No, he certainly wasn’t upset, he told himself. He was simply annoyed. This was not the sort of situation to get upset over.
“Could anyone please tell me exactly what happened here?” he asked, flawlessly polite, as he eyed the carnage before him.
An adorable bellhop, semi-apologetic grin firmly in place, scrambled to his feet and bowed. “So sorry! We were just, um… We were just…” The red of his cap was completely overshadowed by the red of his blush as he tried to come up with something.
“Junsu ah!” The luggage cart behind the bellhop shook, making more of Jaejoong’s suitcases tumble off of it. “Help me!”
Junsu gave Jaejoong another apologetic smile and ran over to the luggage cart, pulling it off of another bellhop (this one in understandably worse shape than the other). The very last of Jaejoong’s luggage that had managed to stay in place toppled to the floor. Jaejoong watched them go with a sigh that suggested the worst was already over, and decided to lend a hand.
As Junsu tried to remedy matters by piling suitcases back onto the luggage cart, Jaejoong reached down to help up the prostrate bellhop.
“Great, thanks, “ the man muttered, and turned to fix a glare at his coworker. “I could have died, you know.”
Junsu didn’t even bother pausing. “Ooooh, bullshit.”
Jaejoong startled. He didn’t usually hear language like that out of the employees at high class hotels. Certainly not in front of customers.
“What bullshit?” the other man responded. “It landed on top of me! And you didn’t care!”
“I’ve never heard of anyone dying from a luggage cart landing on them.”
“It was full! I could have suffocated!”
“You’re too full of hot air to suffocate.”
Jaejoong blinked, and then covered a laugh with his hand. This really was moving beyond an annoying situation to a surreal and vastly entertaining one.
The two bellhops finally seemed to really notice Jaejoong’s presence, and stopped mid-argument.
“Hey, don’t mind me. This is hilarious. You should be a comedy team.” Jaejoong didn’t wait to see their reactions, and bent down to start gathering his luggage himself.
“Ah, shit!” Junsu’s voice squeaked. “No, I mean, ugh! Sorry!”
“What Junsu is trying to say…” A smooth voice spoke right against Jaejoong’s ear. It seemed to send tingling vibrations straight down his spine. Very distracting. “… Is that we really can’t allow a guest to clean up our own mess.”
Jaejoong cleared his throat, fighting the blush he can feel rise up his neck. He doesn’t dare look up. “No, it’s okay. It’s my stuff anyway.”
Junsu squawked, surprised into laughter. “What, all of it? We thought it was another boring delegation of old fogies’.”
The voice moved away from Jaejoong’s ear, and he couldn’t decide if it bothered him or not. “Oh, come on, Junsu. Can’t you recognize a celebrity when you see one?”
Jaejoong scowled, annoyed again.
~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~
Flopping back onto his bed, Jaejoong stared up at the ceiling and wondered why he was in such a bad mood. Normally, a little thing like hotel staff playing with his luggage wouldn’t bother him (provided they weren’t snooping through it or anything), but his initial response had been annoyance. He may have calmed himself down afterwards, but that sort of reaction just wasn’t like him.
And after that bellhop had mentioned he was a celebrity, he’d gotten annoyed all over again. Why? He was used to being recognized, and although he didn’t always like it, he never really-
His musings were interrupted by someone knocking at his door. Rolling to his feet with a groan, he ambled over and opened it onto the smiling face of the smooth-voiced bellhop, with his friend beaming at him from over his shoulder.
“Hello! Yeah, sorry about earlier. We brought the rest of your things.”
Jaejoong checked the man’s nametag automatically. Park Yoochun.
“Yeah, thanks. Um. You don’t have to bring them in. I’ll take care of it later.”
The two friends wore matching perplexed looks.
“You can just leave it all out there,” Jaejoong continued, beginning to feel flustered.
“Hmm… Okay…” Yoochun turned to exchange a long look with his friend, and then started to walk off.
Junsu lingered for a moment. “Hey, you okay? I mean, really, sorry about your stuff and everything, and it wasn’t Yoochun’s fault. Okay, I mean, it was Yoochun’s fault because he suggested it but-”
Jaejoong grinned. He couldn’t help it. “Suggested what?”
“Oh, well, we were riding the luggage cart. It was awesome. Until it fell over, anyway.”
Jaejoong choked on a laugh. “Riding… the luggage cart?”
“Yeah, totally! But yeah, you’re not mad or anything are you? I mean, it’s late and we usually don’t get customers walking down the hallway at this hour - totally your fault it fell over, by the way, you surprised us - and we usually race them, but we could only get ahold of one, so Yoochun suggested we just ride it like that and…”
It hadn’t taken Jaejoong long to catch onto the fact that the only way to get Junsu to stop talking was to interrupt him. “Hey, it’s okay! Really. I’m sorry I caused you two to capsize.”
“No, no biggie. Better you than management. So are you sure you don’t need help bringing in all your stuff, crazy clothes-horse celebrity person?”
“Yeah, I’m sure.” For some reason, he looked down the hallway, towards the elevator.
“Well, if you don’t want me, I could always get Yoochun for you.”
Jaejoong’s head snapped back. “What?”
Junsu grinned, pure innocence. “Oh, nothing. Just thinking out loud.”
Clearing his throat, Jaejoong floundered as he tried to change the subject. “So. Um. Why were you riding the luggage cart?”
“Didn’t I say? Because it’s awesome!”
“No, I meant-”
Junsu waved a hand. “Yeah, I get it. Yoochun was trying to distract me. Bad break-up.”
Jaejoong shifted, feeling a little uncomfortable at the personal route the conversation took. “Oh. Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”
“Hey, it’s cool. I’m okay with it now. Nothing better for a bad break-up than to ride around on a luggage cart! And at least it didn’t fall on me.” Junsu laughed, bowed, and then waved as he strode down the hall to the elevator.
Moving to close the door, he paused as he glanced over at the luggage cart, still filled with his bags.
Nothing better for a bad break-up…
~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~
Peals of joyous laughter rang down the hallways as Jaejoong raced the luggage cart down the corridor. He’d already fallen off twice, his ass was sore, and his hair was a mess, but Jaejoong hadn’t felt like this in ages. His mind was wonderfully blank as he shifted to the other side of the luggage cart to ride it back to the other end.
Closing his eyes, Jaejoong took a deep breath and felt the joy of just existing for a few precious, perfect seconds…
Before he came back to earth with a very literal crash.
“Owwwwww…”
Jaejoong groaned and pushed himself up. After a minute, he realized that not all of the pained noises were his, and he looked around.
“This is the second time today a luggage cart has landed on me…”
Wincing, Jaejoong looked immediately down, already knowing who it was. “Yoochun…”
Opening his eyes at the husky whisper of his name, Yoochun managed to stop groaning long enough to smile, dark eyes crinkling, and Jaejoong felt it like a punch in the chest.
A moment passed when Yoochun decided no more conversation was forthcoming, so he said, “You know, luggage carts on the chest really are terribly uncomfortable.”
“Sorry!” Jaejoong clambered to his feet hurriedly and pulled the luggage cart upright.
Yoochun sat up and shook his head, as if dislodging a fly, then checked himself over for injuries.
“You okay?” Jaejoong asked softly as he sat down next to him.
Looking up with another gut-wrenching smile, Yoochun replied, “Yeah, everything seems to be in its proper place. No missing organs, broken bones, or internal bleeding. Although I’m sure it didn’t help the Technicolor display of bruises I got from my earlier run-in with a luggage cart.”
Jaejoong looked Yoochun over carefully. “I don’t see any bruises.”
“I should hope not. I could get arrested if they were visible,” Yoochun said with a leer.
An answering smile played around Jaejoong’s lips. “But not fired? What a great place to work.”
“You better believe it! We have nude Fridays. You should see it.”
“Today’s Friday.”
“Well, then you better get naked already.”
“Oh, do they make guests participate?”
“Only the pretty ones. That goes for employees too, which is why you didn’t see Junsu naked earlier.”
Jaejoong laughed and lightly slapped Yoochun’s shoulder as he stood. “Come on, help me pick up all my shit, will you? This is going to be a nightmare to clean up by myself.”
~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~
Jaejoong watched as Yoochun sat down at the edge of his bed, and then turned back to the refrigerator. “Any preferences? Vodka? Gin?” He dug further and his brow furrowed. “Apple juice? What’s that doing in here?”
Yoochun laughed and scooted back on the bed until his back rested against the headboard. He kicked off his shoes and tucked his feet underneath himself, taking off his bellhop cap and tossing it somewhere in the general direction of his shoes. “What, you don’t want to pay ten thousand won for a bottle of apple juice?”
Jaejoong grabbed two small bottles of vodka and turned around. “Not really. That’s what vending machines are for.”
“To pay ten thousand won for beverages? What vending machines are you going to? And I think you can afford it anyway, super-cheap pop star.”
Wrinkling his nose, Jaejoong walked over to his bed and held the bottles over his head. “Just for that, I don’t think I’m going to give you any.”
“What? No!” Yoochun scrambled to his knees and held his hands out plaintively. “I’ll be good, really.”
“How good?”
Yoochun smiled lazily, eyes half shut as he looked up at Jaejoong. “Really good.”
Jaejoong pretended to consider for a while, and then caved, handing Yoochun the bottle as he sat down next to him. “Well, I guess that’ll have to do. I would prefer perfect.”
“Hey, I can do perfect. But perfect’s boring.”
Jaejoong found himself nodding as he bent over to unlace his shoes. “Yeah, I guess it is.” He can’t hide the weariness in his voice. “Why would anyone want that?”
There was a long pause as Yoochun popped open his bottle and took a sip. “Want to talk about it?”
Glancing over, Jaejoong found Yoochun seemingly talking to his vodka. “Um?”
“I mean, I know it’s all over the news and everything, and you’re probably sick of everyone knowing about it, but I just thought… You seemed like you needed to talk about it. But if you don’t, that’s cool.”
“I don’t,” Jaejoong said coldly, eyes narrowed. At Yoochun’s expectant nod, Jaejoong thawed a little, continuing as he reached for his own bottle and opening it. “Or at least, not until I get fantastically drunk.”
~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~
“The problem was me,” Jaejoong slurred. He was on his back, head hanging off the edge of the bed, with Yoochun’s feet in his lap.
“Everybody says that.”
“No, really. It was me. Never any spon- spen- I never did anything interesting. Boring, like you said.”
“I didn’t say you were.”
“No, but. Um. Perfect, right? That’s what everyone says. And that’s boring.”
Yoochun’s voice seemed to rub over Jaejoong’s skin like a massage. “You’re perfect, but you’re not boring. Boring people don’t ride around on luggage carts. Did he ever ride around on a luggage cart?”
“Hmm. No, I don’t think so.” He started to laugh.
“What?”
Jaejoong covered his mouth with his fist. “It sure would be funny if he did, though.”
“Because he’s too perfect to do anything spontaneous?”
Jaejoong shoved himself up enough to glare at Yoochun, partially for the implication, partially because Yoochun apparently wasn’t drunk enough to forget the word. “Hey, how many have you had?”
“Hmmm?” That innocent act wasn’t fooling Jaejoong a bit.
“You. Drinks. How many?”
“Six.”
“Gulps, or bottles?”
Yoochun just smiled.
“Yeah, I thought so. Bastard.”
“I thought it might help if one of us knew what he was talking about.”
~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~
“So you don’t think it was my fault?”
“I know it wasn’t your fault.”
They’d moved again. This time, Jaejoong’s feet hung off the end of the bed, and Yoochun’s feet touched the headboard. Their heads rested on each other’s shoulders, and the thought kept flittering across Jaejoong’s mind that if they moved just a little, they could be kissing.
“How the hell would you know that?”
“Well, he cheated on you, didn’t he?”
“But if I’d been better-”
“Shut up. You’re being stupid.”
“You’re stupid.”
Turning his head, Yoochun flicked a quick smile at Jaejoong. Jaejoong was starting to get used to the way those smiles made his stomach flip, but he still missed the beginning of Yoochun’s next sentence.
“-Because you’re perfect.”
Well, that wasn’t such a bad place to start listening. “Um?”
Yoochun heaved a sigh; air hit Jaejoong in the cheek. “I said, it’s stupid to believe people when they say you’re boring because you’re perfect.”
The words hit Jaejoong right between the eyes, and he sat up too quickly. “How’d you know that?” he muttered as he waited for the room to stop spinning.
“I didn’t. Not really. But the context was pretty clear.” Yoochun sat up with him and wrapped an arm around Jaejoong’s shoulders. “You’re an easy guy to read.”
“Liar. Am not.”
“Well, you’re an easy guy to read when you’re drunk and heartbroken, then.”
“Not that either.”
Yoochun raised an eyebrow. “Really? Sure could have fooled me.”
It somehow seemed very important to Jaejoong that he made that clear. “Not heartbroken. That’s why it’s my fault.”
“Oh, I see. You’re not upset enough over the break-up to have loved him in the first place, is that it?”
Jaejoong nodded, pleased. He knew Yoochun would understand.
“And I suppose Yunho was just crying buckets while he fucked someone in your bed.”
Jaejoong frowned. “That’s not-”
“Oh, hush.” Yoochun tucked his chin onto Jaejoong’s shoulder and pulled him closer. Jaejoong took a deep breath. Yoochun smelled like vodka and deodorant and strawberry conditioner. “Not everything’s your fault, you know. You don’t have to carry the world on your shoulders.”
“I-”
“And you’re perfect, but you’re certainly not boring. You’re… you’re just perfect.”
Blushing hotly now, Jaejoong muttered, “Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s rude to interrupt?”
“Yeah, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with interrupting stupidity.”
“You include stupidity in your definition of perfection?”
“Only with you. You’ve perfected stupidity.” Yoochun blew hot air into Jaejoong’s ear, and Jaejoong shivered.
“Is that supposed to be a compliment?”
“I don’t know. Did it sound like one?”
Jaejoong shifted until his back was pressed against Yoochun’s front. Yoochun pulled his legs up so that Jaejoong could rest his elbows on his knees.
“I can’t tell. It sounded like it could be both.”
“Well, maybe it was both, then. Words can be more than one thing.”
Feeling like this entire conversation might have more than one meaning, Jaejoong reached back and slid his hand down Yoochun’s arm until he caught his wrist and pulled it around. He slid his fingers through Yoochun’s, cupping Yoochun’s hand in his palm.
“People can be more than one thing, too,” Yoochun breathed into his ear.
Jaejoong nodded.
~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~
Sitting up against the headboard, Jaejoong pouted as Yoochun talked to Junsu over his cell phone. “Yeah. Yeah. Okay, I get it already. I’ll be down in a few.” Yoochun hung up on Junsu’s loud squawk and turned to Jaejoong, running a hand through his hair. “Sorry. The boss has been by a few times, and Junsu’s been covering for me, but the boss is starting to get suspicious, and Junsu’s starting to panic.”
Despite Yoochun’s work clothes, Jaejoong had completely forgotten that Yoochun was an employee at the hotel, and, moreover, someone he’d just met a few hours ago. The whole time they were talking, Jaejoong had felt like Yoochun was an old friend that was trying to help him through a shitty break-up. “Yeah. Okay.”
Yoochun leaned forward suddenly and pressed his forehead against Jaejoong’s. “I get off in four hours.”
Jaejoong smirked back at him. “Are you asking me out?”
“Maybe. What do you say? Me, you, a bottle of wine, your room in four hours?”
“Sleaze. Don’t I get a proper first date?”
“I dunno. What would make it proper? Flowers?”
Jaejoong shoved Yoochun away and stuck his tongue out at him. “Ugh, as if. I’m not a girl.”
Yoochun laughed and climbed off the bed, grabbing his shoes and looking around for his cap. “Sure could have fooled me, the way you were talking.”
Spotting the cap first, Jaejoong rolled off the bed and threw it at Yoochun’s grinning face.
“Don’t forget to take off your clothes.”
Yoochun stared, and Jaejoong felt quite satisfied when he saw the beginnings of a blush creep up Yoochun’s neck. Served him right for all the times Yoochun had done it, even in just the few hours they’d known each other.
“Nude Friday, remember? Only the pretty ones get to be naked.”
Yoochun finally recovered enough to understand the implication, and he grinned at Jaejoong as he pulled on his cap and headed out the door.
~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~
He brought flowers. And Junsu.
Junsu bounded into the room as soon as Jaejoong opened it, leaving Yoochun to give Jaejoong an apologetic shrug as he thrust the flowers into Jaejoong’s arms. “I couldn’t shake him. I think he has some sort of tracking device on me. One day, I’ll find it and finally escape his evil clutches.”
Junsu ignored Yoochun and pulled the two of them apart. “I thought you guys might need a chaperone, since Jaejoong sshi sent you back to work drunk.”
Indignant, Yoochun sputtered, “I most certainly was not!”
Jaejoong nodded. “It’s true. He’s the one that got me drunk.”
“Well, regardless. Someone got someone else drunk and Yoochun came back to work smelling like alcohol. Therefore, a chaperone was needed.”
“Junsu, you’re such a liar. You just wanted to see Jaejoong’s suite.”
“Any added bonus is entirely coincidental and has nothing to do with the situation at hand.”
Yoochun leaned close to Jaejoong and whispered. “I say we get him drunk and shove him out into the hallway.”
~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~
Junsu would have said it was Yoochun’s idea. Yoochun would have said it was Jaejoong’s. Jaejoong knew they were both wrong, because it had totally been Junsu’s idea.
“Whoooooooo!”
“Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!”
Crash!
~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~
Yoochun poked the bent pipe with his toe. “I think it’s broken.”
“We are soooooo dead,” Junsu groaned, covering his face with his hands.
Jaejoong whimpered from underneath the broken luggage cart. “Help?”
As they carefully helped the wounded pop star, Yoochun hissed, “Junsu, you are the world’s worst chaperone.”
~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~
Jaejoong curled in a chair, watching the two friends wrestle on his bed and trying not to be jealous.
“Damn it, Yoochun, it’s MINE!”
“No way! In what universe?!”
“In this one! Because I say so!” Junsu crowed as he emerged from under his friend, trophy in hand. “Ha! Victory!”
Yoochun pouted and wrapped his arms around his legs. “Your English sucks.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Junsu gibed as he opened the last bottle from the mini-bar. “I still win.”
Smiling slightly as he watched their banter, Jaejoong silently wondered how much his hotel bill was going to be, and then decided it didn’t matter.
After the fiasco with the broken luggage cart, Yoochun and Junsu had decided the best option was to hide out in Jaejoong’s room and get drunk(er), until it was simply impossible for them to walk to the elevator, let alone drive home.
Jaejoong laughed as he went to find some ice. He’d certainly had worse dates.
He gave Junsu a baleful look that was blithely ignored.
Even with a chaperone.
~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~
Jaejoong woke with a killer hangover.
Yoochun woke with an even worse one.
Junsu wanted to die.
The three of them lay curled together, warm on the sun-drenched bed, and none of them were in the condition to appreciate it.
“What mother-fucking idiot person forgot to close the god-damn blinds?”
~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~
“I hate you. I hate you all.”
Yoochun smiled as he curled further into Jaejoong’s chest. “I don’t remember forcing you to drink last night.”
Jaejoong nodded and added, “In fact, I vividly remember you fighting Yoochun over the last bottle.”
“I don’t remember that. I think you’re lying.”
“Okay, then,” Yoochun said with a yawn, and covered his eyes with a hand. “We got you drunk enough so you’d pass out, and had sex on your back while you were sleeping. Close the blinds on your way out.”
Grumbling, Junsu stalked over to the window and yanked the curtains shut. He tried to straighten his crumpled uniform as he headed for the door. “Stupid Yoochun with his stupid day off,” he mumbled to himself. “Stupid gorgeous pop stars that side with Yoochun over everything. They deserve each other.”
He made sure to slam the door on his way out.
~ ♦ ~ ♦ ~
They didn’t wake up again until much later, to the sound of Jaejoong’s cell phone buzzing in their ears. Jaejoong blinked open his eyes and turned his head. How on earth had it gotten there? Shrugging, he moved to grab it, and then froze as he saw the name.
Yoochun wrinkled his nose adorably, feeling Jaejoong tense underneath him, and tilted his head up to look at him. “Hmmm?” His eyes narrowed as he took in his friend’s expression, and he didn’t have to look at the cell phone in order to see what the problem was. “Ignore it.”
“What?” Jaejoong frowned down at Yoochun. His hand still hadn’t moved, either to bring the phone closer, or to move it away.
“Don’t answer. Why put yourself through something like that again?”
Jaejoong chewed on his lower lip. “It might be something important. It might not have anything to do with… what happened.”
“What else could it be about?”
Jaejoong didn’t have an answer.
They both watched the phone until it stopped buzzing.
Part Two
A/N: This was originally just going to be a one-shot, but as time went on, I realized there was no way I’d be able to finish it before I went to bed, and I wanted to post something. Hopefully I'll finish the rest tomorrow.