Chapter 3

Magnetic Attraction

DING.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain Lee Hyukjae speaking. We have now reached a comfortable cruising altitude, so you may freely move around the cabins. In a few moments my co-pilot Donghae will take over the plane and I will be making my rounds to personally thank each and every single one of you for investing your time and trust on us for this flight."

Hyukjae finished announcing and stretched in his seat, looking at Donghae beside him who had a peculiar grin on his face.

"What's with that creepy smile?" Hyukjae asked Donghae as he pushed a couple of buttons and switched into autopilot.

"I know you're going to chew me up for saying this but there's this hottie that I shook hands with before -" Donghae started.

"Who do you not find attractive these days?" Hyukjae sighed.

"Hey loser, at least I've actually had a girlfriend before, unlike you," Donghae shot back, ready for another verbal battle about Hyukjae's Gynophobia.

"You're just a womanizer Hae. I prefer to keep traditional and find my true love. But... I did kind of meet someone when we were shaking hands too."

"My man! Did you look into her eyes? Did you blush? Please don't tell me you stuttered," Donghae pleaded, fearing what Hyukjae was going to say.

"I stuttered."

"Great. Now that you're going to see all the VIP's, how am I supposed to sit here and man the aircraft without feeling extreme second-hand embarrassment for you?" Donghae asked, looking at Hyukjae accusatively. "What happened to our little lessons? Have you been practicing in front of the mirror like I taught you?"

"But I have a good reason this time!" Hyukjae defended himself.

"Excuses, excuses."

~*~*~*~

"Great, tilt your head more to the left. Chin up. Give me some fire in your eyes. Oooh yeah!" Cherie instructed Leeteuk as she snapped away maniacally on her camera.

"I still can't get over the fact that you're close with the pilots," Hyorin said to Leeteuk as she stifled a yawn, lounging on the couch.

"Tell me about it," Leeteuk said, shifting positions.

"They have girlfriends then huh?" Hyorin added. "Hot guys like them should be married by now."

"No," Leeteuk said.

"No?"

"No," Leeteuk repeated slowly.

"Spill then," Cherie laughed as she lowered the camera from her face to look at him. "Why not?"

"Well," Leeteuk stalled, "it's pretty humiliating for me to say this, but they have some major issues -"

He stopped and looked up as he heard a knock on their cabin door.

"Come in," Cherie said, placing her camera on the table as Hyukjae walked in.

Gone was the hat, his tie was loosened, and his blazer was ed. She saw his eyes widen as he caught her eyes and she couldn't help but look away and pretend to pick an invisible lint off her dress.

"Well don't just stand there like a statue. Sit down," Leeteuk said, noting his hesitation.

Hyukjae stepped into the cabin and silently sat down on the other recliner across from Cherie.

An unbearably long silence hung in the air as he tried to think of something - anything - to say.

Nothing came to mind.

'Just say hello you idiot,' Hyukjae thought to himself. His mouth opened, but no words came out.

Leeteuk couldn't take it any longer. Maybe if he left Hyukjae alone with Cherie, he would be forced to make conversation instead of staying mute like a dummy.

"Hyorin, I remember that Donghae said I could visit him in the cockpit. You should come with," Leeteuk got up, motioning for Hyorin to follow him with his eyes.

"Awesome," Hyorin caught on quickly, and in the blink of an eye, they were out of the cabin, leaving Cherie and Hyukjae behind.

Hyukjae shifted uncomfortably on the other leather recliner, not daring to look at Cherie.

Cherie cleared .

"Sooo..."

Fiddling with his platinum ring, Hyukjae's intense, fixed gaze was trained on the floor.

'This is so embarrassing. I'd rather just jump off the plane and drown in the ocean,' Hyukjae thought to himself, his face once again burning up.

'What is it with him that makes me so speechless? I'm not usually like this at all,' Cherie wondered, flustered.

"This is fun," Cherie tried again, attempting a weak smile.

"... yeah," Hyukjae offered a single response, still continuing to stare at his feet. He was going to murder Leeteuk later, chop him up, and feed him to the lobsters.

"I know I came off a little overbearing a while ago, but I really want to get to know you more because you seem like a cool guy, so... let's maybe talk a little bit about, uh, the weather?" Cherie looked out the windows, and was greeted by pitch blackness.

Right. They were up above the clouds at night.

Wonderful.

"Sorry, I'm just... not used to talking..." he looked up into Cherie's eyes for the first time, "... with girls."

Unable to maintain eye contact with her, he quickly looked down again in embarrassment and fixed his shirt, trying to keep himself busy.

"Oh, um, may I ask why?"

"I... I haven't really... told this to anyone..." Hyukjae murmured.

"If you're uncomfortable talking about you don't have to. But if you do, your secret's safe with me. I promise I won't leak it to tabloids," Cherie laughed.

Hyukjae's rigid posture relaxed a little.

"It's fine. I've studied in single- schools... my whole life. I wanted to become a pilot, so I... focused with my studies and... yeah."

It took a while for Cherie to register that fact into her brain since she was distracted by the smooth, rich timbre of his voice.

"And?" Cherie asked, a tiny bit dazed.

"I haven't really had much contact with... women..."

"That's really unusual. What about female coworkers. Or passengers?"

"I... don't know how to talk to them up close. I clam up."

"But you're doing pretty good right now. I think you just put too much thought into it," Cherie encouraged.

"I was nervous because of my... stuttering before, so right now... it's... a milestone for me," Hyukjae said, flashing Cherie a weak grin.

Her heart unknowingly skipped three beats.

"You're welcome. Like I said, be natural. Girls like that."

Suddenly, a wave of nausea overcame Cherie as she winced in pain.

"Is... is something wrong?" Hyukjae asked hesitantly.

"Just a little dizzy," Cherie said, putting her palm up to her head.

"There should be some aspirin in this cabin's First Aid kit," Hyukjae was about to stand up before Cherie grabbed his hand.

"No, I'm fine. It happens occasionally," she said, touched by his concern for her.

Hyukjae looked down at their intertwined hands.

"I'll go ge-g-get you some... wa- water then," he started stuttering again, letting go of her hand.

"Thanks," Cherie smiled, retracting her hand back a little awkwardly.

~*~*~*~

"Teuk, give the poor man a break. He just met her!" Donghae swooshed his bangs to the side as Leeteuk poked around in the cockpit.

"If he wants to learn how to communicate with girls he has to be more aggressive. I can't hold his hand and give him step by step instructions all the time," Leeteuk replied.

"What are you guys talking about?" Hyorin asked curiously.

"Oh, Hyukjae's afraid of talking to girls because he grew up studying in all-boys schools. Teuk thinks Hyuk should just man up and embrace the attention he receives from women, but he would, no joke, much rather sit at home and read a book on quantum physics than casually talk to a lady in a coffee shop or wherever," Donghae rolled his eyes.

"At least his future girlfriend won't have to worry about him being a player," Hyorin said in his defense.

"But he's too conservative. I don't know if it's because he's a hopeless romantic and plans to ignore everyone until he meets this dream girl of his, or he's just plain ignorant to the fact that he actually has to talk to girls before they desperately fall in love with him," Leeteuk retorted. He knew his friend too well to see any apparent good side to his abnormal fear.

"Well then you guys don't have to worry. Cherie's so charged with verbal ammunition she could carry out a conversation with a rock and still have fun," Hyorin assured them jokingly, but lost her footing as she stepped backward and nearly fell over before gripping onto Donghae's chair for support.

"I don't care too much for you but if you trip and fall on my babies," Donghae laughed, gesturing to the millions of buttons and switches in the cockpit as Hyorin straightened herself up.

She scoffed and slapped his shoulder playfully. "So you're saying that I'm less valuable than these plastic knobs?"

"You got a problem with that miss diva?" Donghae said as he dodged her oncoming attempt to slap him again.

"Excuse me. I'm a Glamorous Diva with a capital G. Don't be hatin coz you jealous," Hyorin flicked her hair.

"Ooookay time to go. We need to get out of here before something bad happens. Let's go Glamorous Diva" Leeteuk intervened, dragging Hyorin out with him.

~*~*~*~

After seeing the girls say their goodbyes and exchanging their numbers with some guys in uniforms at the front entrance of the Milan International Airport, Kyuhyun crept his way behind them once the men left.

"Heaven must be crying since they lost two of their angels today," he said, his voice low.

Hyorin whipped around, ready to punch the guy with the cheesy pickup line, but when Cherie turned around and saw who it was, she squealed so loudly that her pitch could've popped a couple of eardrums.

"CHO KYUHYUN. I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!"

Letting go of her luggage, she jumped on him and enveloped him in a big bear hug.

"I missed you too bumpkin," Kyuhyun laughed, snaking his arms around her back and digging his face into her neck.

"Doesn't Hyorin get a hug too?" Hyorin whined as she tried prying Cherie from her death grip on Kyuhyun.

“O-ay Cher, I thing you shoul lemme go fore… die o lack-o oshyjen,” Kyuhyun rasped, patting Cherie's back.

“No!”

It felt so good to be in her best friend's strong arms, to have a sense of security and comfort again.

"Aww, look at you two," Hyorin observed, noticing how Cherie was still very much attached to her ex-boyfriend.

"Come on, I have a ton of stuff planned for you guys to do! Gotta beat traffic," Kyuhyun said as Cherie unwillingly let go.

After mounting their oversized luggage into Kyuhyun's yellow Ferrari, Hyorin and Cherie slid into the back of the car as Kyuhyun revved up the engine and drove out of the airport parking lot.

HONK!

"Whoops." Kyuhyun peered in the rearview mirror to see a very angry Italian man in the buggy waving his arms maniacally out the window behind them. Bobbing his head up and down to the loud rap song blaring from the car radio, Kyuhyun carried on driving.

"That's how I rolllll bro."

"Way to go Kyu."

"You betcha."

Mesmerized by the glorious sights of the beautiful Renaissance buildings, the sounds of the busy Milanese city, and the delicious aromas of freshly baked bread wafting into the open car window as they whizzed through the streets, Cherie stared out of the window like a little girl in a candy shop, completely oblivious to the near-car accident.

She was finally in her dream country. In her dream city. About to reach the final destination of her long-awaited fantasy. This was it.

"So how's my little star doing back in Korea? Have you released any new albums recently?" Kyuhyun pried, his eyes focused on the reflection of Hyorin in the rearview mirror.

Sighing, Hyorin let out a frustrated groan.

"No. I caught some stupid throat virus, so I've been living with Cherie these couple of months to catch up with my last year of studies in college. The doctor said that I shouldn't strain my vocal chords or it may mean no singing for good. Kyu, you out of all people should know that I die if I can't sing!"

"Ahhh..." Kyuhyun nodded as he swerved into the left lane. "I think I vaguely remember Cherie mentioning it a couple of weeks ago on our monthly Skype date. How about I cook up a steamy bowl of chicken soup for you when we get home?"

"No no no no no no. I appreciate the offer, I really do, but no. Please. No. I beg you," Hyorin declined urgently.

"But I promise you my cooking's gotten a lot better," Kyuhyun said sadly.

"You plus the kitchen equals World War III. Remember last time you tried baking us christmas cookies, you ended up burning them, set off the smoke alarms, and hid behind the kitchen counter while Cherie and I covered your when the firefighters came to the crime scene?" Hyorin pointed out, poking Kyuhyun's shoulder.

"Twas a jolly good season," Kyuhyun laughed.

~*~*~*~

Grunts, pants, and the sound of clinking metal filled the air as Kanye West's 'Stronger' pulsed throughout Hyukjae's personal gym in his Milan villa.

"Work it harder, make it better,
do it faster, makes us stronger,
more than ever, never over,
Our work is never over."

With the deep bass music cranked up, it pumped up the men to work out all the stiff and cramped muscles from the long flight. Cold blasts of air-conditioning came from the overhead ventilators, but their sweat still dripped down their faces, chests, and backs as the afternoon glow of the summer sun streamed in through the glass windows.

Peeling off his muscle shirt, Hyukjae tossed it in a hamper and made his way to the mini fridge beside the floor-to-ceiling mirror for some water. As he guzzled down the iced liquid, some escaped from his lips and trickled down his neck to his stomach, following the path of his firm abs that were still gleaming with sweat.

"Aquaaaa," Leeteuk rasped as he got up from his weight machine. Taking his shirt off too, Leeteuk grabbed a dry towel from a rack and slung it around his neck whilst reaching for an energy drink. "Hae, you want one?"

"Not now... I need... ugh, to finish this set first," Donghae grunted as he alternated liftting 20lb dumbells in both hands.

"Showoff," Hyukjae smirked, ambling his way to Donghae and dumping the rest of his water on Donghae's head.

"Dude!" Donghae laughed, dropping the dumbell. He turned around to face his assaulter and jumped on Hyukjae's sweaty , tackling him to the floor.

"Easy there tiger!" Hyukjae laughed as he tried to roll away from his attacker.

~*~*~*~

"This is the life," Hyukjae muttered contentedly, sinking into the jacuzzi tub as jets of hot, soothing water squirted out from the spouts, creating furious little bubbles on top of the swirling water. "I should do this more often by myself."

Holding steadily onto his champagne, he tipped the glass towards his lips and took a long swig of it.

"I know I say this everytime, but you have the best view," Donghae said, gazing out of the windows as the lights of skyscrapers and commercial buildings twinkled in the night sky.

Leeteuk splashed the both of them. "Let's have a heart to heart session shall we gentleman? First on our agenda: Girls."

"Girls." Hyukjae repeated. "Please Teuk, don't make me kick you out."

"Come on! Hae and I both know that you have the hugest crush on Cherie."

"But she probably thinks I'm a freak since I can't even speak to her properly. Forget it man. I'll just remain single for the rest of my life and be a manwhore like Hae."

"Hey!" Donghae yelled. "I am not a manwhore. What the heck's wrong with you? You're the leader of our pack, the macho man everyone wants to be. All the guys look up to you, but what do you have to show for it? Nothing. No women attached to your side, no trophy wife to show off to the boys. She's perfect for you. Honestly, her face is gorgeous, her body's hot, and her best friend is hella fine too. She's the only one whom I actually approve of... well, excluding grandmother Patty. She bakes delicious cookies," Donghae rubbed his flat stomach as he smacked his lips together.

"Grandmother Patty? Hae, I'm not getting together with Cherie just so you can hook up with Hyorin. Manwhore."

Turning his attention to Leeteuk, Hyukjae asked, "And who are you to lecture me on girls when you don't have a girlfriend yourself?"

"Well for your information, Kang Sora finally agreed to date me," Leeteuk replied smugly, showing the lovey dovey texts he had been receiving from the actress.

"What? Since when?!"

Both Donghae and Hyukjae shot up from their positions, fighting to look at Leeteuk's phone.

"Since about a week ago. But we're trying to keep it on the down low since her new movie just launched. I don't want to steal her limelight," Leeteuk held his phone away from them. "Now back to my Hyukkieeee!"

Hyukjae sighed. "Do whatever you want. I know you're not going to quit until your ridiculous plans backfire and I fail miserably in the most humiliating and excruxiating way possible."

"I love the attitude. We'll have her in your lovetrap in no time," Leeteuk said as he tried to hug Hyukjae.

"Get away from me," Hyukjae laughed, shoving him away.

"To Hyukjae's future wifey!" Donghae lifted his champagne glass in the air. Leeteuk clinked it and they both started laughing like goons.

Hyukjae couldn't help but crack a tiny smile.

~*~*~*~

"This is your house?!" Cherie and Hyorin marveled, gawking at the beautiful architecture and landscaping of Kyuhyun's large estate, temporarily forgetting their luggage as they stepped out of the entrance of the enclosed garage.

"Yeap. Personally designed by yours truly," Kyuhyun smiled, propping his hands on his hips.

"Kyu, you are such a genius. Have I ever told you that? Genius." Cherie stared open-mouthed at the luscious green grass and elegant edifice.

"Seven years of architecture school does wonders. But most of it's from here anyways," Kyuhyun said, tapping his head.

"Uh huh. Ever heard of 'Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration'?" Hyorin asked as they made their way up the cobblestoned path that led to the main entrance of the mansion.

"No Edison, did you think of that yourself?" Kyuhyun retorted as he typed in the passcode on the numeric keypad attached to the door. The door clicked open quietly and Kyuyun led them through the main hallway and up the winding stairwell to their shared guest room.

"I'll let you guys chill for a bit before we leave for the Galleria," Kyuhyun winked, leaving the girls to unpack and settle down.

Cherie left her baggage beside her claimed bed and stepped out onto the balcony, admiring the scenery of the calm, serene ocean waves rolling peacefully onto shore, wiping away marks and blemishes on the soft sand as if erasing painful memories of the past and starting anew. Breathing in a deep lungful of the clean, crisp evening air, she rested her elbows on the smooth, deep mahogany wood railing.

"Do you think it's worth it, coming all the way to Italy?" she asked as Hyorin stepped outside too.

Hyorin wrapped her arms around Cherie and hugged her tightly.

"Yes hun. I do, because not only is it for you sister, it's for yourself. You deserve it, and Valerie would be cheering you on all the way for achieving your dreams on her behalf."

Cherie smiled.

"Thanks Hyo"

"Anytime. I'm always here for you. You know that."

-----------------------------------------------------------

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Alice2007 #1
Ok, so I'm going to start reading this and see what happens. I'm so excited!! Lee Hyuk Jae is my ultimate bias of all times but there are not many suju fics and if they are it's EunHae not OC pairings. See you when I finish this!
wonja2 #2
Chapter 25: This story just popped up when I hit the random story link, and I'm so glad it did. You're an amazing writer, and you really had me going there for a second with the last chapter.
Morelittle #3
Chapter 1: i love your writing style!! lots of imagery and the flow of the first chapter was so awesome!! now, you'll be the reason for me not to finish my english homework XD aahh why did i have to find your story!!
SapphireBlueHearts
#4
Chapter 1: 4th time reading this. Seriously I cant get over with this story. Its really greaaaat! (~~,) :")
-ximini #5
Amazing writing! I skipped the , too, lololol.
Mizuki1987
#6
Thank you for this awesome fic. I couldn't stop to read it, but i finished it just now and I love it!!!!!!! Thanks for it again!!! ^_^
Jewel15 #7
Wow~ Hyuk as a pilot! Nice! I love the story sooooooo much! I skilled the ,though XD
th3bau5
#8
hahaha i skipped the :p BUT OMG the end, i was scared. YOUR WRITING IS AMAAAZING! i loved this so much! if you have any new fics be sure to link them to me. aaaah incredible. <3
SapphireBlueHearts
#9
Reading this with my pure innocent brain
LOL XD
But honestly I love it & reading this for
The 2nd time now.. :)
I have a little trouble finding this story
Because I don't have an account when I read this :(
&& I'm very happy to say that
YOUR FIC IS DAEBAK!!!! ^___________^
Thank you for making and ending this!!
I really appreciate your hard work in this fic!!!
Muah!! :* [XD]
KatSh_23_5 #10
I read the chapters that I couldn't in a day!
It was great! althougt, at the beginning of this
I thought that theri marriage was over! but, what I
surprise I find! lol I love it!
I'll follow your next fic too! (: xoxo<33