Jung Soo could feel the thrill already. It was so palpable, he was unable to sleep all night. The publicity that his movie had received so far was making him delirious. He couldn’t begin to explain his elation as soon as he had found out that his movie that was about to go on floors was the hot topic nowadays. Film critics could forecast a successful run for it as big names such as Siwon and Kyuhyun were on board. But most of all, the unique and hard-hitting concept upon which this movie was based was the topic of debate. While some had alluded it to several such movies that had bombed at the box-office previously because they fell prey to negative criticisms, others had nothing but praises for Jung Soo’s courage to go forward with the idea instead of shelving it for an indefinite period of time. Although it was a fact, it was sad to realize that some movies that had potential were never really initiated. Some never see the light of day, forever to remain hidden within the farthest reaches of the director’s ambitious mind.

Jung Soo wasn’t of the type to suppress his views or thoughts fearing what the world may view him as in future. And he had worked with both Siwon and Kyuhyun enough times to learn the fact that both were equally ambitious and were notorious risk takers as far as their profession was concerned. Just like he was. From the moment he had thought about the script, he had considerably narrowed down his choice to the two of the most highly sought after and talented stars of the Korean entertainment industry. He just couldn’t settle for the second best. It was a do or die situation where either he’d end up bringing both of them on board or not go ahead with it at all.

It was well past midnight and he couldn’t bat an eyelid. He had an early morning flight to catch but none of it mattered right now. Right now his thoughts kept him company.

“Whoa! I didn’t sign up for ‘The Scorch Trails’ sequel by mistake, did I?” twittered Ryeowook, Jung Soo’s bubbly new assistant.

“Hardly got any sleep last night!” Jung Soo said as he loaded his luggage in the cab.

“Well it’ll be a while before we land in Corsica. You can catch your beauty sleep in the flight.” Ryeowook ensured him as the cab took off to the airport.

“I hope so ‘coz I already have a splitting headache. On the second thought, I should be careful what I wish for, especially with Siwon and Kyuhyun on board. Those two are ticking time bombs that can go off any second. Managing them both is seriously worse than raising toddlers, I swear!” he said while rubbing his temple.

“How would you know so much about raising toddlers anyway?” his assistant enquired.

“What? Just because I am not married, I am not illiterate. I know basic parenting ethics. My sister has two troublemakers and…boy…I have my hands full whenever she decides to visit.” And like that Jung Soo shared several snippets of his mundane life that’s not known to the outside world and Ryeowook was all ears until they reached the airport.

“We’re here!” he beamed and raised both his hands in excitement. Jung Soo smiled weakly at the gesture. The kid obviously didn’t have the slightest idea of what was in store for him. They unloaded their luggage and headed towards the waiting area of the International Terminal.

“Hyung pardon me but this movie has scenes to be filmed in Seoul too right. Why couldn’t we have those scenes recorded before heading to Corsica?” Ryeowook asked out of curiosity.

“Thought you’d ask that question. Its because Corsica’s supposed to have the best weather around these two months, perfect for filming!” He replied while Ryeowook acknowledged it with a nod. They still had ample time before going through mandatory checks before boarding their flight.

What they hadn’t expected was waiting for them at the airport. Siwon and Kyuhyun had arrived much earlier than Jung Soo and were already at it. Apparently it had started off regarding the seating arrangements. Because the ticket booking was done at the eleventh hour in haste, the seats were booked rather haphazardly.

Jung Soo looked warily at Ryeowook who had visibly shrunken noticing the predicament at hand.

You can catch your beauty sleep, he said. It’ll be fun, he said!

These two will drive me to a premature death by the time I’m done with the shooting.

Because of their tiff, the airport officials and several other passengers started throwing awkward glances at them. Anymore and they will be thrown out for causing unnecessary disturbance.

“Is there a problem Jung Soo-ssi?” One of the securities had recognized him and enquired him.

“Ah..ha ha..No just a little misunderstanding! I’ll handle it. No need to worry!” Jung Soo managed as the security guard walked away but not without sparing another glance in their direction.

“Guys guys calm down! We’ll sort this out as soon as we board our flights alright!” Jung Soo tried handling the situation before it went out of hand.

“He says he wants the window seat, no motherin’ way am I giving that up for him!” barked Kyuhyun. Jung Soo stared at him as if he’d blown his fuse. Seriously!? After seeing this he swore to himself that the next time his sister dropped by he'd piggyback her kids around the kiddy park for as long as they demanded. Because that’s how much more manageable they are compared to the two three year olds supposedly in their late 20’s.

“And I thought Christian Bale threw tantrums, this is on a whole new level!” Ryeowook remarked.

Get my coffin ready! I’m comin momma!

“Well I am not taking the last row seat ‘coz I get claustrophobic!” Siwon defended himself.

“Ha! That’s coz you are a wimp. None of my troubles!” Kyuhyun retaliated.

“Say that again you little er!” Siwon charged at him ferociously.

“Sure I will and I’ma in spell it out for you!” Kyuhyun seethed. This was too much for any sane person to handle. As the director and the person steering the entire crew for as long as this project entailed, Jung Soo took it upon himself before this progressed into an ugly fist fight.

He furiously dropped his duffel bag and toppled his trolley. That apparently drew the attention of both troublemakers towards him.

“That’s it? Oh don’t let me interrupt you two. It was starting to get interesting!” Jung Soo said in an uninterested tone that threw them off including Ryeowook. There was a still quietness that scared them as they wondered if he was angry or pulling some sort of a prank on them.

“Hyung! What are you doing?” Ryeowook squeaked.

“What? I am just telling them to continue from where they left off. What’s the worst that could happen? They’ll only end up paying penalties from their own pockets!” he said.

“And since they’re celebrities, I am sure they’d have to cough up a hefty sum. These extras aren’t reimbursed in the contract anyway!” he continued while Ryeowook just stood silent in a corner.

Siwon and Kyuhyun couldn’t look him in the eye. They were ashamed to be showing off their starry tantrums in front of an audience. This would no doubt end up attracting bad publicity and jeopardize the whole project.

Right then the announcement went for all passengers boarding the flight to Corsica to go through the initial security checks before boarding. Jung Soo regarded that the airport authorities had already responded to his distress call.

“Now if you both have cooled off your bloated egos, can we get going?” he said and left.

“I am sorr..” As Kyuhyun began Jung Soo turned around quickly so he stopped in his tracks.

“I don’t need your apologies Kyuhyun. Just be thankful I didn’t shred the contract into pieces.” He said and Kyuhyun could only stare dumbfounded.

“Next time you two pull something stupid, you wont be that lucky!” he added and proceeded for the security check.

He is scary.

Kyuhyun did a double take on that thought. He sure as hell wouldn’t want to get on Jung Soo’s bad books. He made a mental note to keep his temper at bay especially around Siwon. But it was gonna be difficult since all the other did was intimidation and blatant downgrading and Kyuhyun didn’t think he’d subject himself to such torture for the sake of this movie. But he had to. Oh how he wished his fiancée was with him now. He was missing her already.

my life!

Kyuhyun fell in step with Ryeowook who couldn’t help looking at him from the corner of his eyes. Kyuhyun found this very disturbing.

“Umm…” he started, then suddenly realized that the shorter male was too close to him for comfort.

“You do have a mole under your right eye!” Ryeowook said rather excitedly.

“Uhh….what does that have to do with anything?” he insisted.

“Its just silly but I had a bet with my classmates back in high school for 10,000 won but who cares about it now. Anyway I am Kim Ryeowook. I am your biggest fan Cho Kyuhyun-ssi!” he said and put his hand out for a friendly shake.

“So you’re hyung’s new assistant. Pleasure to meet you too, midget!” Kyuhyun snickered while Ryeowook went beet red.

“All my mom’s fault!” he whined as he wheeled his luggage.

“Try insoles. Work like a charm!” Kyuhyun suggested. Ryeowook looked like your everyday meek, whiner-baby fit enough to be Mike Tyson’s test subject. Kyuhyun wondered if he’d ever gotten bullied in high school or at least had his precious lunch money stolen.

Boarding a flight never had been this tiresome, especially if you have a six-footer blocking your view of the most gorgeous stewardess you’d ever seen in your life. This was Jung Soo’s predicament or better phrased as ‘typical bachelor’s syndrome’. What’s even worse was that stewardess throwing googly eyes at the said six-footer supposedly because he was a Greek God. He hated Siwon specifically for that reason alone. Aside from his starry tantrums of course.

“Have a safe trip Siwon-ssi.” He heard her greet the lanky actor.

Despite her warm gesture, he just gave her the good old fashioned cold shoulder attitude. It was sort of a trademark for an actor of his caliber and name. Or it could be typical of a person who had gone through multiple heartbreaks. Either way it was rude and Jung Soo wondered why women found this bad boy attitude attractive. Have gentlemen become a thing of the dinosaur era already?

Siwon sat down with a permanent scorn etched on his face after having his luggage loaded in the compartment above. Ryeowook had yet to get acquainted with the actor but it just wasn’t the right time. And so he made himself comfortable beside Jung Soo who seemed to be quite smitten with the pretty stewardess.

“Would you like something to drink? Coffee, tea, wine…” she offered with a smile often seen in toothpaste commercials.

But instead of a coherent response, he let out soundless breaths of air. “He’d like some coffee please. He has a headache so he is speech impaired for the time being.” Said Ryeowook while Jung Soo gawped at him.

Great save! Now she thinks I’m a weirdo.

“You can thank me later hyung. I was just doing my job!” he smiled as Jung Soo thought up various scenarios where he’d put his assistant’s head through a wall for the little stunt he pulled.

Kyuhyun settled comfortably in his seat beside the window. He went through his messages and found one from his fiancée. This had been the only good thing that happened to him all day. He texted her back before switching his phone off. A strange combination of excitement and anxiety took over him as the plane took off. Soon they were thousands of feet above ground and the plane cut through wispy cotton clouds. Just when he started to drift off to sleep, he heard the concerned voice of the stewardess hunched over a visibly pale looking Siwon.

“Siwon-ssi are you ok?” she urged him as he shook his head rather weakly. He was sweating bullets and looked like he could pass out anytime.

Man! I didn’t know it was this worse!

Kyuhyun had dealt with a brief period of Nyctophobia himself while he was a kid. He remembered the sweating, the vicious palpitations of his heart, the nausea and brutal suffocation. He could only shudder at the thought of going through an attack like that again. However constant therapy worked in his favor and he’d long since forgotten about it until now that he’d seen Siwon in such state. Cranking his neck he saw Jung Soo and Ryeowook sound asleep. He stood up from his seat and approached the furthest row.

“You can take my seat.” He said and the stewardess urged Siwon to take his help.

“I don’t need your in pity!” Siwon barked back.

He’s sick and still has balls to talk back. What the !

“Listen you. You don’t need to play the hero here. Either you go and take my seat or stay strapped to some hospital bed in Corsica for a week or two.” Kyuhyun seethed. By this time the stewardess and a couple of passengers were ready to break these two up at the drop of a hat, in case of a brawl. Was there a term to describe a brawl in a plane flying thousands of feet above the ground kind of like having a quickie in a clammy, dingy restroom?

Left with no other option but to bury the hatchet, for now, Siwon exchanged seats with Kyuhyun and in no time started feeling better. Feeling relaxed he drifted off to sleep in an instant.

Feeling the need to empty his bladder, Siwon woke up somewhere in the middle of the night. Everyone was sleeping. Exchanging seats with Kyuhyun had helped to keep his claustrophobia at bay and he felt almost as good as new. As he approached the back rows, he stopped to look at his nemesis sleeping peacefully. Was he in his senses to be doing something like this? Hardly. And he knew he’d slap himself and then some for even staring at Kyuhyun’s sleeping face when in reality he couldn’t stand him for even a second.

Although it was difficult to see properly in dim lighting, he still could pay close attention to the details of his face. He’d never have imagined he’d get to observe Kyuhyun with patience. Kyuhyun’s face had a more feminine and softer slant as opposed to his manlier and sharper features. Now how this person just kept springing up at him like a tiger was left to his imagination. His soft hair fell as curls and framed his face, his lips were thick and rosy and were parted slightly as he breathed in and out. And Siwon simply stared at him without a track of time until his bladder reminded him of the pressing need to be emptied.

Cursing himself for having been distracted, he relieved himself and went back to his seat. He wasn’t claustrophobic and he was more than comfortable. But why was his heart beating so fast? Why was he sweating? And more importantly, why did he feel what he had felt when he thought about Kyuhyun, his rival?

A/N:

Badump! Hello there my beautiful readers!

Missed me? I know you did. Hence the update to my story!

Siwon has already started to experience the warm fuzzies. Will Kyuhyun reciprocate?

Only time will tell!

Thank you all for giving this story so much love and support! I cant thank you guys enough for it!

So, I have decided to update on a regular basis since I am almost at the end of my Post Graduation!

Whoopie! Freedom at long last.

So enjoy this update and tell me what you guys thought about it!

That means subscribe and upvote if you’ve loved it and comment on it if you’ve REALLY loved it. He he he!

Thank you guys once again. I love you all. Peace out!