verse six

Junsu’s tired, sweaty form slumped onto the floor. Sure, he was fit, and sure he loved to dance, but four hours of literally non-stop dancing was just too much. He panted, toned chest heaving up and down, breathing harsh and loud, and wiped the sweat that wouldn’t stop trickling down his face and neck. With eyes shut tight, he thought of what he wanted to do for relaxation. Sleep was nowhere near his mind although his body was actually yearning for it. He wanted to go about the city or have drinks or something. He wasn’t sure which, though.

He felt for his mobile in his sweat pants pocket, brought it out, slid the top up and scrolled through his phonebook. He realized that he didn’t have her number. Groaning to himself, Junsu stood and made his way towards the shower rooms. He pulled off his soaked wifebeater, followed by his pants. He stood under the cold shower, attempting to drown away all the pain and fatigue he felt. He reached for the shampoo, lathering his short hair in the strawberry smelling fluid, and then scrubbed his lean muscular body with moisturizing soap – courtesy of the female staff who loved putting stuff in the shower room for him to use. After rinsing the soap suds away, Junsu stayed under the shower for a little while longer.

When he stepped back into the studio, he learned that everyone had already left – including his manager. He found a note sticky-taped to his bag, however. It said that Yunho had gone somewhere with his girlfriend and that he knew Junsu could take care of himself until later that night.

Junsu sighed. What a great manager he had.

He picked his bag from the table, slung it on his body, and made his way out of the studio. He carefully thought of which floor he had to go to before stepping onto the awaiting elevator. He pressed on the button and waited. When the doors slid open, Junsu walked down the hall, to the very last door. After knocking thrice, he twisted the knob and invited himself into Park Yoochun’s workroom.

“Kim Junsu!” the other exclaimed. “What can I do for you?”

“Yoochun,” Junsu smiled, extending his hand for a friendly shake. “I was…” he hesitated. “I wanted to ask you…”

“Yeah?” the young musician asked. He was getting anxious with the singer’s nervousness.

“I wanted to ask if you could give me Riin-sshi’s mobile number.”




He bowed to the other man as he closed the door of his office. Junsu stared at the digits that were typed in his own phone, memorizing it. He, then, pressed on the call button and waited for the other to answer. When he heard her voice, his body stiffened; he didn’t know what to tell her.

“Uh… Riin-sshi,” he greeted. He smacked his own head in frustration for his stupidity. “It’s Junsu.”

That made Riin respond, albeit shyly, what matter was that she said something. “Oh, Junsu-sshi… is there something I can do for you?” she asked, softly.

Junsu looked up at the sky, he realized that he’d already made his way to the rooftop. He thought of something quick. “I wanted to ask if you’d like to get a drink with me, or something.”

“Oh…” he heard from the other line. He could make out shuffling and talking from Riin’s end. “Right now?”

“I was thinking now, yeah,” he waited for a moment, but when Riin didn’t respond, he retreated. “But if you’re busy… we could just forget about it.”

“I’m having a class in five minutes that I can’t ditch,” she said, her voice apologetic.

“Oh… class? You’re studying?” Junsu exclaimed.

“Oh, didn’t I tell you? I’m going to grad school,” Riin replied. Junsu bobbed his head up and down in apprehension. “How about… early dinner? Is six o’clock fine? My treat.”

He jumped at that opportunity and by the time that Riin had to hang up, Junsu’s spirit was so high up, he needed to hold onto the railing to make sure that he wasn’t really floating. He took a deep breath after putting his mobile in the confines of his pant pocket and ran his way down to the parking lot. He drove as fast as he could – with out breaking traffic rules, of course – and headed to his apartment for a change of clothes. He needed something more attractive for his date tonight.

Wait.

Junsu stopped, thoughts, breathing, everything.

A date?

Oh, no. It wasn’t a date date, he thought. No, it wasn’t that. Not a date. But…

A friendly date. Yes. That was it. A friendly date.

He let out a sigh, and went on with what he came home to do. The words ‘friendly date’ echoing in his mind. It was nothing more than that, he reminded himself. They were friends.

Junsu found himself at The Divine Cafe half an hour later – and two hours earlier than what they had agreed upon. He sat on a corner table, far from eyes that would – no doubt – recognize him. He ordered champagne and waited patiently for his friendly date to arrive.

At around six-thirty that evening, dinner was served and the friendly couple was talking and laughing together. Junsu could not take his eyes of Riin, especially when she answered his questions about herself. She told him that she was taking up a thesis course in post graduate school. It had something to do with – if Junsu wasn’t mistaken – business management and administration. It was the reason why she was in the office, too. Because her thesis was for the company, as well.

Junsu was overwhelmed by her. She was soft and warm in all the right places. She was shy and timid but had a beautiful and infectious laugh.

And Junsu found himself turning his back to his promise.

i think this is one of my favorite chapters. i like hesitating-and-shy!junsu a lot. ^_^