The Lover Drama

Scene 145

Joon Jae felt movement beside him. Though the movement was very quiet and minute, he turned to glare at the source of the disturbance. Joon Jae saw his apartment' s manager, Min Jae-sshi fidgeting as he crouched down with him behind some thick bushes in front of the apartment complex.

"Please be quiet hyung. He might hear us." Joon Jae whispered. There was a little warning in his tone."I took you with me because you said you'll be really quiet."

Min Jae-sshi' s mouth curled in distaste. "Well, you didn't tell me we'll be stalking Takuya. If I had known I would've just stayed with my mom. She said she's cooking kalbi tonight."

"Hyung! I just really need you to be quiet now okay? You can go back to your mom if you want. If Takuya sees us because of you, my plan will be ruined. This is the only--"

Min Jae-sshi's elbow connected with Joon Jae's side. Before he could say anything though his manager put his hand on Joon Jae's cheek and turned it toward Takuya's direction.

He was sitting on one of the benches while looking at his phone absentmindedly. When Joon Jae looked, Takuya's phone lit up. He saw his roommate hurriedly look at the screen with a hopeful expression that fell once he checked the phone. It seemed the text mate hadn't sent anything yet. Takuya had the same hopeful look on his face this morning when he received a message from someone.

They were just finishing breakfast when Takuya' s phone vibrated. He had his phone with him all the time these days and it somehow made Joon Jae annoyed for some reason. When Takuya saw the message he quickly stood up and seemed confused momentarily. And he had never seen his friend out of sorts...ever.

"Where are you going? You haven't finished your breakfast..." he said softly. But Takuya was already running towards their room. He was also mumbling as he went. He disappeared for a moment then emerged wearing a different outfit. Joon Jae thought he looked especially fetching in his light pink sweater and dark washed jeans. But then Takuya had always looked good no matter what he wore. But this time it was different.

Joon Jae could tell that his blond roommate was extremely looking forward to seeing his text mate. It was there when he checked his reflection in the mirror on the wall. It was annoying as hell. And he was still looking at his phone. When he looked up and saw Joon Jae, it felt like he forgot that he was there with him earlier. Early stirrings of resentment began swirling around Joon Jae's heart but he quickly stamped it down.

"Joon Jae, I have to go out for a bit. But I might come in late so don't wait up. I have my keys with me." He dangled a set of keys from his pocket and smiled at the general direction of Joon Jae.

A retort was already on his lips when Takuya turned around abruptly and left without anything else. It made Joon Jae feel bereft suddenly and he decided that he didn't like this feeling.

Come to think of it, this wasn't the first time Takuya behaved like this. It was probably a few days ago. The same thing started to happen. Someone would text him and he would move away from Joon Jae. Takuya would go to their room to answer a text as if he was afraid Joon Jae could read his messages. It wasn't as if he had some super extended x-ray vision that could penetrate walls for God's sake. The worse was when this text mate called. If Takuya was overly protective of his texts, with his calls he was borderline obsessive. Joon Jae found him crouched one day in one corner outside their balcony. He was speaking so softly too as if he was afraid Joon Jae might listen in on their conversation. What irked him was when Takuya saw him approach, he immediately said goodbye to the person on the other end and hurriedly made a prompt exit. Why did he do that? Did he think Joon Jae would demand to know who he was talking to and ask what they were talking about? Takuya's behavior made him curious as to who exactly he was communicating with and why he thought Joon Jae should not know about it. He was sure it was a guy though. He heard Takuya say 'hyung' a few times. So Joon Jae wanted to see who this guy was.

A ringing tone was heard and it shook Joon Jae out of his thoughts. He concentrated on what his roommate was doing. Takuya answered the phone, a smile already seen on his face.

"Hyung. Did you find the directions okay? Yes, I'm actually out." He paused then laughed lightly. "Of course I'll wait for you. I promised I would." Takuya listened to whatever was being said to him then to Joon Jae's utter disbelief, his roommate's cheeks reddened. He couldn't believe it. A man was making Takuya blush? Another man? He hadn't even made Takuya do anything for him for crying out loud. This was unacceptable. In Joon Jae's mind, only he was the one allowed to make Takuya feel things.

"Yah. What's the matter with you? Let go of my arm." Joon Jae looked around and found that Min Jae-sshi had this pained look on his face. When he glanced down he saw that he had grabbed his arm and was now in the process of crushing it. He let go immediately.

Min Jae-sshi rubbed his arm and moved carefully away from Joon Jae. "Mianhe, hyung. I didn't realize I was...anyway, I'm sorry. I'll give an ice pack for it or something later. I promise. I just--"

"Ah, so that's Takuya's boyfriend huh? Not bad. And he's also tall." He heard his apartment manager say and Joon Jae quickly turned to Takuya's direction.

At first he couldn't really see who Min Jae-sshi was referring to because the spot where he last saw Takuya was was empty now. Quickly scanning the area, Joon Jae glimpsed his roommate's blond hair on his right side and just like that he had his full view of Takuya and another man just emerging from a shiny red sports car.

The other man was indeed tall. He was wearing a light denim jacket with a dark colored shirt underneath and a pair of white pants. His short hair was cut in the latest style and he had a pair of sunglasses on which blocked the view of his face. Joon Jae saw the man smile when he saw Takuya. When Takuya smiled back Joon Jae's chest constricted with something akin to pain. The man then walked over to his friend and hugged him. Joon Jae's hand unconsciously closed into a fist. His mind screamed at him to move and pry the guy's arms off Takuya but some tiny part of his brain held him back. Just then Takuya said something to the guy but it was too soft so Joon Jae didn't catch it. Then the man leaned down and whispered something into Takuya's ear. His tall friend just stood still. Joon Jae couldn't see Takuya's face so he wasn't sure what he was feeling at the moment. But then his companion laughed and even hugged Takuya tighter.

Joon Jae was very sure then that he had a competitor for Takuya's affections. Seeing how the two men were with each other made Joon Jae hesitant. Would he still confess his feelings or just let it go? Takuya still thought of him as a friend and he enjoyed being his friend. The question was how would he feel now that his roommate had a boyfriend? What if they go on a date? The guy would definitely know about their set up. It was inevitable for them to meet. Takuya was very thoughtful and kind so of course he would introduce them to each other. And that would be a whole world of awkward.

Then Takuya's laugh reached his ears. To him it sounded a bit forced so Joon Jae fixed his attention to the pair. He saw Takuya trying to move out of the man's embrace but he was having a hard time because the guy didn't want to let him go.

"Hyung, I think you shouldn't do this here. My neighbors will see and..." Takuya said while twisting his body away.

"Then let them see. I haven't seen you in a long time. I missed you, Taku-chan." The man said and slid one of his arms up and rested it on Takuya's back. He pressed down and Takuya once again fell against him.

"Well that guy sure is very persistent. I can't blame him though. If I were him I'd definitely want to hug Takuya too. He just looks huggable, doesn't he Joon Jae-sshi? Joon Jae-sshi? Where did he go?" Min Jae-sshi glanced around to look for his apartment neighbor but he disappeared. "I might as well go back to my mom. It's kalbi for dinner. Kalbi, kalbi..." he kept chanting as he turned away from his neighbors. He didn't see Joon Jae walking purposefully toward Takuya and the man hugging him. He also didn't see him forcefully grab the other's arms away from Takuya and drag his roommate to his side.

Joon Jae was breathless with anger. The moment he saw the man hug Takuya against his will snapped him into action. He didn't think to stop what he would do, he just knew that he had to rescue Takuya. Now he was face to face with the said man. It was obvious that the guy was taken by surprise. He must not have known that there would be someone who'd stop him. Well Joon Jae was definitely that guy. His friend would be protected all the time as long as he was around.

"J-Joon Jae...why are you here?" Takuya asked him hesitantly. His gaze moving from him to the other guy.

"I followed you." Joon Jae said sternly while keeping his eyes on the man before him. He felt Takuya fidget beside him. When he moved it was only then that he noticed how tightly he was gripping his friend's wrist. He didn't dare let him go.

"Why? I told you I'm going out. I'm just-"

"Are you going out with him?"

Takuya nodded. "Yes. Shin hyung is my friend from Japan. He just arrived so we planned to hang out. We're just about to go." As he explained, Takuya tugged on his wrist so Joon Jae loosened his hold but he still didn't let him go. Instead, Joon Jae favored this Shin guy a look.

The man had moved until he was resting on one of his car doors. He had his hand on his car, looking like he was modeling it. Then he slowly took off his sunglasses and Joon Jae almost scoffed. It was so damned cheesy. But he couldn't find fault in it because the man knew he was attractive.

Shin also gave Joon Jae a once over then immediately turned to Takuya. Joon Jae refused to feel insulted.

"It seems I'm meeting your roommate," Shin said to Takuya. He extended his hand to Joon Jae. "Annyeong haseyo. I'm Shin Won Ho. I'm Takuya' s good friend. We're close actually. I lived with him and his family when I was in Japan. So we became very, very close. And you are?"

Joon Jae shook his hand briefly. "I'm Lee Joon Jae,Takuya' s roommate. We're close too, you know. We live in the same house, we share meals, we play video games, we hang out all the time. We're very close."

Joon Jae felt Takuya tug at his hand again not because he wanted him to let his hand go but to make him stop. He didn't want to stop but before he could say anything else Takuya beat him to it.

"Yes, hyung. He's the one I'm telling you about. Joon Jae is such a good friend to me and he helps me with things...he shares stuff with me, you know. He's very thoughtful too. Hahaha."

Shin's eyes narrowed slightly. "Really? I'm not so sure he knows everything you need. Not like I know you, that is. I always know what you need and I give what you need. Every time." He said slowly and deliberately meeting Joon Jae' s eyes.

Takuya's eyes widened in shock. "Oh my god, why would you say that? It didn't sound so good. That's not what you mean." He looked at Joon Jae. "He didn't mean it that way, I promise." Then he looked at Shin again. "Hyung tell him you didn't mean it that way. Please."

The other man just smiled smugly. "Oh I don't know. Maybe you could beg me more. You always look good when you beg."

"Hyung! What the heck are you saying? This is all screwed up. Joon Jae, he's just joking. Don't believe him. I'm not...I don't beg him for anything. He just wants to play around. That's all."

Joon Jae could see Takuya was getting flustered with all the teasing. It was obvious Shin was trying to stake his claim on his roommate but Joon Jae wasn't one to just back down.

He let go of Takuya' s wrist then held his hand instead. "It's alright. I understand. I know what you mean," he said then slowly raised his eyes to look at Takuya. He moved his arm up and kissed the back of Takuya' s hand. "We always talk before we sleep so there are no secrets between us." Sparing a glance at Shin, "We share just one bed after all." He said, smirking.

Takuya POV

Takuya smiled down at the copy of the script he had in his hands. It was the first day of working on his new drama The Lover. Today was actually just for meeting his co-actors and doing some line reading. But he was very very excited. It was his first drama in Korea after all. And his role was especially exciting to play. 

Actually he was a bit hesitant when he first got the script. He knew he had to act like he was very cheerful and always upbeat. That was easy. But then he also knew he had to say very mature lines...they were very mature indeed, remembering the secret Japanese lesson scene. He was sure he could also do it. It all boiled down to acting after all. Takuya was a professional, he didn't mind scenes like that. 

If s didn't watch the show the better. He thought to himself that he'd prohibit them from watching it when it aired.

What nagged him was the intimate scenes. Well not so 'intimate' because there wasn't any kissing scenes...there were a number of 'almost kiss' scenes though. Takuya knew he'd get through it with his co-star Lee Jae Joon. He was a very good actor from what he had seen him do. When it came to it Takuya was sure Jae Joon-sshi would help him. But the problem was with him. And his stupid heart.

Taking a quick glance at his left, Takuya made a mental note not to stare at his leader for more than five seconds. If he broke this rule his secret would definitely be out. The fact that he was attracted to Shin was beginning to be a problem with him. 

"Are you nervous about the line reading?" Shin asked as he maneuvered his way into the driveway of Takuya' s drama studio. He volunteered to drive the younger man on his way to work. 

Takuya smiled and shook his head. "No, I'm actually excited. It's been a long time since I did a drama so I feel good. I can't wait to start."

"That's great then. I guess I don't have to teach you how to act." The leader said while smiling in return. "Well I'm just here if you want to ask questions. I can help you with scenes if you want."

Takuya just smiled in answer but he remembered the scene from the drama earlier. Clearly it was not an official scene because it was him that switched characters and dialogues to suit his imagination. The official scene was Joon Jae would definitely be jealous but it would be over a girl and not with Shin. His mind was again betraying his heart. And it was getting harder to stop. If only the scene in his mind would come true, Takuya would be ecstatic. But he knew it was impossible.

They stopped in front of a medium-sized building. Takuya knew where he had to go. He went out of the car and slung his backpack on his shoulder. Bending slightly so he could look at Shin, he waved a hand and started to say good bye.

"Thanks for dropping me here. If I finish late I'll just take a taxi."

Shin made a negative motion with his hand. "What are you saying? Of course I'll come get you. We're on the same way. Just send me a text once you're done. Okay?"

 Takuya nodded and smiled before he closed the door. He didn't dare look back for fear of what he might do if he saw Shin again given his imagined scene earlier. 

As he neared the building, he noticed that another man was walking toward the entrance. The man was tall and had a slight build. But he was gracefully moving as if he was dancing. Takuya was momentarily mesmerized. Then the man stopped right beside him. He flashed Takuya a warm smile as he extended his hand at the same time.

"Annyeong haseyo. I think you'll be my roommate starting today. I'm Lee Jae Joon." 

Takuya accepted his offered hand. "Yes, I'm Terada Takuya. Pleased to meet you."

Jae Joon laughed softly. "Oh you're shy, so cute. I know who you are Takuya-sshi. You know what, let's not be too formal. As I said we're going to be roomies from now on. You can call me Jae Joon hyung if you like. That would be more natural, don't you agree?"

"Takuya has always been shy with strangers. But he opens up once he gets to know you." It was Shin. The surprise must have shown in Takuya' s face so Shin added,"You left your copy on the seat. Here." He gave Takuya the violet folder then he turned his attention to Jae Joon. "I'm sorry, I think might have been rude...I'm Shin Won Ho. I'm Takuya' s friend and the leader of our group. Nice to meet you." Shin offered his hand.

Jae Joon shook his hand. "Ah yes, I heard Takuya-sshi is in a band. Well it's nice of you to drop him by. I'm sure we'll have a good time today. Won't we, Takuya-sshi?"

Honestly, Takuya was at a loss how to answer. He surely didn't expect Shin to follow him and he wasn't expecting that Jae Joon-sshi was a bit forward. What could be the best answer? As he was thinking of a way to answer both men without causing trouble, he failed to see how Shin and Jae Joon were sizing each other up. 

Each man saw something that they want and both were thinking how to get it.