FIFTEEN

A/N: TVXQ's Changmin makes an appearance as Chanwoo's family private lawyer. He is someone who understands the dynamic of the family.

On the way to Ju-ne’s home, the silence in the car was awkward between them. Both of their heads were swirling with their own thoughts after the kiss they had shared. Neither knew what to say to each other so they kept quiet until they arrived in front of Ju-ne’s apartment building.

Chanwoo parked the car. He cleared his throat and Ju-ne jumped slightly in startled. “We’re here,” he announced unnecessarily. He glanced at Ju-ne.

“Eo…” Ju-ne rubbed the back of his neck. He kept his eyes down, not looking at Chanwoo, suddenly shy and embarrassed in front of him. “Thanks for driving me home…and for taking me out tonight…” he trailed. “I had a really nice time.” His cheeks burned when their kiss replayed in his head and he ducked his head down so he could hid it.

Chanwoo couldn’t help but smiled amusingly. Ju-ne had always appeared confident, loud, honest and straightforward, always vocal and open about everything. To see him act like a shy high-school girl and being obvious about it made him cute. His heart fluttered. Ju-ne was always surprising him and he realized that the more time he spent with him, the more unexpected sides of him he sees. It was charming.

“Hhmm,” he hummed.

Ju-ne bit his lip nervously. “Do you,” he hesistated, “…want to come up? Have a coffee?” He blinked expectantly at Chanwoo.

Chanwoo tilted his head and gazed at Ju-ne softly, tenderly. Ju-ne felt his heart stopped for a second. He tried his best to hold in his teasing words that was already formed at the tip of his tongue at Ju-ne’s very transparent hint at him. He pretended not to notice, he doesn’t want Ju-ne’s face to become even redder. Besides, he shouldn't, it will only makes things more complicated, more harder for him. “It’s late. I should go.”

“Right.” The disappointment flashed across Ju-ne;s face openly but he simply smiled it away. He unbuckled his seatbelt and swiveled in his seat to face Chanwoo properly. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

Ju-ne was abashed. He scolded himself internally. God, what’s wrong with me? Why am I like this in front of Chanwoo?

Unconsciously, his eyes trailed down Chanwoo’s handsome face and stopped at his small lips. His heart pounded. Impulsively, he leaned forward and kissed Chanwoo. It was a quick peck, just a touch of his lips pressed against Chanwoo’s but when he pulled away, his face was hot and his heart was racing so fast in his chest. He ducked his head and scrambled out of the car. “Bye!” he squeaked before jumping out of the car and shutting the door. Without a glance back, he nearly ran all the way to the inside of his apartment building.

Inside the car, Chanwoo laughed.

******

Ju-ne chewed on his thumb as he sat cross-legged in the middle of his queen-sized bed and stared, unmoving, at his phone screen. He glared at the words he had typed.

Did you get home ok?

The unread glared back at him for the last thirty minutes. His heart thumped with growing nervousness with each minute that ticked by.

Suddenly, his phone beeped and a message appeared underneath his words. He jumped forward onto his front causing his phone to bounce up and clumsily caught it in his hands. His eyes turned wide as he read the message from Chanwoo.

Yeah I did, thanks.

His face erupted into a smile and he felt a tingling sensation swept throughout his body. He swung his legs up in the air as his fingers worked fast pressing the buttons.

I’m glad.

His fingers paused mid-air.

Goodnight.

Instantly, there was a reply.

Goodnight.

Ju-ne let out a high-pitched squealed and rolled all over his bed, the sheets tangling as he turned with exaggerated giddiness.

He stopped and held the phone close in front of him. He sighed happily, his heart somersaulting and butterflies rampaging his stomach.

Goodnight.

He re-read the word. Again. And again.

The smile on his face didn’t fade.

Goodnight.

It was a simple word but Ju-ne felt like he was at the top of the world.

He closed his eyes and the memory of their first kiss replayed in his head. He shut his eyes and squealed loudly again, his legs kicking in the air.

“Ah…!” he sighed happily.

******

His office phone’s intercom beeped loudly, the red light blinking, indicating that a call from his personal assistant was coming through. Chanwoo teared his eyes away from his computer screen and glanced at it. He pressed the accept button.

“Yes?” he answered, returning his gaze back to his computer screen.

“Mr. Jung, Lawyer Shim Changmin is here to see you.”

Chanwoo’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. Changmin hyung? “Send him in.”

“Yes, Mr. Jung.”

A few seconds later, there’s a knock on his door and then his door swung opened. Chanwoo looked up just as his personal assistant led in a man, in a maroon, impeccable suit with an cool aura that transcends everyone else. He walked in with his head held high and his eyebrows quirked stylishly as he regarded Chanwoo with a playful smirk. When his personal assistant announced his presence, he grinned, amused.

Chanwoo nearly let out an exaperated sigh; he's amused too. He nodded his head at his personal assistant. “Thank you.”

“Would you like anything to drink?”

“Yes, coffee, black, no sugar,” Lawyer Shim Changmin breezily ordered.

“Mr. Jung?”

“I’m good, thanks,” Chanwoo replied with a wave of his hand.

She bowed at him and at Lawyer Shim Changmin before stepping out of the office, shutting the door quietly behind her.

“So, to what pleasure do I owe to have the great Changmin visiting my office?” Chanwoo said.

“It’s a lucky day for you,” Changmin remarked smoothly, his grin unwavering.

Chanwoo shooked his head and chuckled lowly. “It’s good to see you, Changmin hyung,” he smiled.

“I know,” Changmin replied.

Chanwoo scoffed and Changmin laughed, he affectionately patted Chanwoo’s arms as they sat down on the sofa in front of Chanwoo’s desk.

“I haven’t been able to see you since you got back. I wanted to congratulate you on your promotion but it seems I’m too late,” Changmin said. He leaned back on the leather sofa and crossed his leg over his knee. “Because you’re getting promoted again.”

Chanwoo sighed, “So, that’s why you’re here.”

“I have just finished the meeting with your grandfather,” Changmin said. “He even wanted a new will written. Took the whole morning.” He paused, letting the short silence hanged heavily between them. “He didn’t include your father and Taeho in the will. Skipped straight to you.”

Chanwoo doesn’t say anything, his face impassive. His guarding walls grew taller.

“I’ve always wondered when this day would come and it has come.” He gazed at Chanwoo with a quiet sympathy. Chanwoo was 14 years old when he first met him and he immediately took a liking to him. They had the same passion and determination in everything they do. “I know how you feel about all of these, Chanwoo. You don’t want it but you don’t have that choice.” When he was newly hired, young and freshly graduated from law school, it was made very clear to him, by the Chairman, that the crown will be passed down to Chanwoo. It was only a matter of time.

Chanwoo clenched his jaw, his stomach churned uncomfortably. Suddenly, he felt nauseous.

******

“Hey.”

Ju-ne’s heart fluttered. He grinned. “Hey,” he breathed. Why was he nervous? He never had a problem calling Chanwoo before but now everytime he does, his heart tingled. “You’re busy?”

“Just the usual. Why?”

“Nothing, I was just calling,” his fingers fiddled, picking on an invisible thread on his trousers. “You know, wondering…if we can see each other tonight…”

“Tonight?” A pause. Ju-ne held his breath. “Sure, yeah. Tonight’s good.”

Ju-ne’s heart jumped, his grin turned into a wide smile. “Great!”

“Will you stop smiling like that? It’s scary!”

Ju-ne glared at Hanbin.

“Who’s that?”

“A very cranky, ually frustrated person.” He tactfully dodged a throwing pen.

“YAH!!” Hanbin screamed.

“What…?” Chanwoo laughed over the phone.

Ignoring Hanbin’s fuming red face, he swiveled his chair around and rested his elbow on the chair’s armrest. “Anyway…what did you have for lunch?”

******

Ju-ne, generally, don’t listen to people when they talk unless it concerned him or was interested in. Right now, the category of Donghyuk and Yunhyeong’s conversation about the new episode of the latest, popular drama on TV with a clueless, sleep deprieved Jiwon (he vaguely heard him said that he had been on a two-day, full-on stakeout to bust out a suspect he had been chasing for a long time), fell in both of the above. He didn’t care and he doesn’t want to know. So, even though he was sitting right next to them, he simply blocked them from his ears and his eyes instead were looking out of the window, searching, waiting for a familiar, tall figure that made his heart fluttered like crazy. When he saw a distinct silver Audi arrived and parked in front of the restaurant, he jumped to his feet and without a glance at the others’ confused and startled looks, he hurriedly left, a huge smile on his face and butterflies rampaging his stomach.

Chanwoo smiled his dimpled-heart fluttering smile as he stepped out of his car looking breathtakingly handsome in a white shirt with the collar tieless and the top two buttons ed, and a black mackintosh. He looked casual and simple but breathtakingly handsome. Ju-ne wondered how could anyone looked breathtakingly handsome as Chanwoo?

“Hi,” Ju-ne grinned, his cheeks shading a light pink from his thoughts. “You’re here.”

“Hhmm, I’m here,” Chanwoo replied.

“I’ll drive so you can just leave your car here.”

“Oh?” Chanwoo raised an eyebrow. He glanced over Ju-ne’s shoulders at his brother’s restaurant. Through the window, he saw his brother, Donghyuk and Jiwon frowning and gawking at him. “You said to meet here…”

“Yeah but this is not the place I wanted to take you. There’s another place. A special place that I want to show you,” Ju-ne said coyly.

Chanwoo’s doe eyes sparkled.

“Come on,” Ju-ne grinned. He wrapped his hand around Chanwoo’s arm and pulled him to his car.

“Arasso, arasso,” Chanwoo laughed.

“What was that?” Yunhyeong exclaimed with wide eyes. He frowned as he watched Chanwoo and Ju-ne got in Ju-ne’s car and drove away. “He didn’t come in and say hi to me,” he muttered. He turned to Donghyuk and Jiwon, aghast and shocked. “Chanwoo didn’t say hi to me! He ignored me! I’m his brother!"

“Yeah but that doesn’t compare to Ju-ne,” Donghyuk shrugged.

Yunhyeong sulked furiously. "That ungrateful brat!" he muttered under his breath.

Donghyuk heard him and laughed. "Get used to it, hyung. You're not the only man in Chanwoo's life."

Jiwon blinked blankly at them. “Er…what’s going on?”

******

It was now the beginning of October and the cold weather was approaching fast, invading and defeating Summer but the lingering warmth stubbornly held on, tinging the soon returned Autumn in the air. And it was for that reason Chanwoo loved autumn season the most. To him, autumn was just the perfect weather. Not too cold, not too hot – a good mix of both. He closed his eyes momentarily and inhaled the lukewarm, refreshing air into his lungs, feeling it spread all over his body to his fingertips making him feel calm, washing away the heavy weight on his shoulders and his heart felt light. He opened his eyes and gazed at the grinning man sauntering to him as he climbed out of the car, his heart fluttered with a fleeting emotion of happiness.

Ju-ne’s eyes twinkled.

Chanwoo smiled. He thought, he was going to let go of everything tonight and enjoy every moment with him. With Ju-ne. With the person who made him feel happy and free. Just for tonight.

“Korean Film Archive,” Chanwoo read out loud the large, white letters printed on the building as they approached it.

Ju-ne nodded proudly. “It’s where all of Korean’s film and soundtracks ever produced are stored.”

“All?”

“All.”

“Wow.”

“It’s my sanctuary,” Ju-ne said. “If I ever need to hide away from the world, I come here and listen to music and watch movies. Everytime I leave this place, I feel so much better and ready to face the world again.” He smiled. “That’s why I wanted to bring you here. I wanted to show you my special place.”

Chanwoo quirked his eyebrows. “Not because you wanted to force me to watch all of your favourite movies?” he teased.

Ju-ne tilted his head in a mocked thinking. “Maybe…”

They shared a smile.

“So, what movie are we going to watch today?”

Ju-ne pulled open the glass door and stepped aside to let Chanwoo in first. He muttered a thanks. Immediately, the cool night air faded.

“It’s a surprise. Although, with your limited knowledge, I doubt you even know the movie if I told you.”

Chanwoo pursed his lips and playfully glared at Ju-ne. “‘Don’t watch a lot of movies’ doesn’t mean I’m illiterate.”

“To me, you are,” Ju-ne deadpanned.

Chanwoo narrowed his eyes. “You’re looking down on me, now?”

Ju-ne’s lips twitched into an amused smile.

“Fine,” Chanwoo huffed, “I’ll admit I’m probably not as knowledgeable as you but I’ll let you know that my taste in movies are pretty good. You’ll be very surprised.”

“If that’s what you say but I’ll doubt it.” Chanwoo opened his mouth to argue back, he was someone who never backs down in an argument but Ju-ne quickly interrupted him. “Wait here! I’ll go buy the tickets.”

Chanwoo frowned as he watched him. “Yah – don’t walk backwards like that. You’re going to fall and hurt yourself.”

Ju-ne grinned widely, still walking backwards slowly to the counter. “That’s okay. If I fall, I know you’ll catch me.”

Chanwoo scoffed loudly at him but a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips, not saying anything back.

Ju-ne grinned triumphantly.

Ju-ne purchased their tickets and strolled back to Chanwoo who was standing in front of the display walls, reading on the history of Korean films.

“Hey.”

“So, what movie am I being forced to watch?” Chanwoo asked, grabbing the tickets from Ju-ne’s hands.

“I’m not forcing you. I’m educating you.”

Chanwoo ignored him. He read the title of the movie printed on the tickets. A Promise. “What it’s about?”

“A doctor and a mafia boss falls in love with each other.”

“Ahh…so it’s a Korean version of Romeo and Juliet?”

“Something like that. It’s got everything – romance, comedy, angst and tragedy.”

Chanwoo raised his eyebrows. “Okay.”

“You’re going to like it,” Ju-ne insisted.

“Okay.” Chanwoo chuckled when Ju-ne glared at him in annoyance. “Okay, I’ll enjoy it!” He waved the tickets. “The movie doesn’t start in 40 minutes though. What do you wanna do?”

Ju-ne smiled knowingly. “Listen to music.”

******

Ju-ne led him to the other end of the building and through another glass door. Inside, stretched out across the vast room are rows of tall, wooden shelf cases. It was like a library except the each shelves contained neatly organised CDs and only a few held thick, leather books. It was a storage of all Korean soundtracks.

Chanwoo observed his surrounding quietly and attentively, his eyes darting from one corner to another, awed at the displays. “Are these all CDs? Soundtrack CDs?” he asked, amazed.

“Yeah, they’re all soundtracks. All soundtracks – movies and dramas. They’re all here.”

“Hhmm,” Chanwoo hummed distractedly.

He moved further into the room, heading to the first shelf to skim through the soundtrack CDs. Ju-ne followed him quietly. Biting his lips, he looked down at Chanwoo’s hand. His heartbeat increased. He reached his hand out to Chanwoo’s. Chanwoo turned to him, his large brown orbs sparkling. He quickly pulled his hand away and awkwardly hung his arm by his side. He cleared his throat.

“Come here.”

He led Chanwoo further inside, passing the tall shelves, to the back to where the listening booths were.

“Oh, you can listen to music here?”

“Hhmm,” Ju-ne answered, glancing at Chanwoo as he walked them to the booth at the corner. “Sit down,” he said, nodding to the chair.

Chanwoo sat down.

“Wait here.”

Chanwoo bop his head, blinking his large doe eyes.

Ju-ne stifled a grin. “Good boy.”

Being an almost regular at the place, Ju-ne knew exactly where to get what he wanted for Chanwoo to listen to and so he returned to the listening booth quickly afterwards. He held the CD case out. “It’s my favourite song from the movie we’re watching tonight.”

Chanwoo nodded his head and watched him expectantly as he kneeled down and pulled the CD out from its tray and inserted it into the player inside the booth. He pressed the next button so that it goes straight to the right track and then grabbed the black headphone hanged next to the player and put it on Chanwoo. As he does, their eyes met. Soft brown orbs clashed with his dark ones. Soft brown orbs that captured him intensely. It was as if in that moment everything around him stopped moving. Including his heart. Frozen in time. He was stunned.

“What’s the song called?”

Chanwoo’s quiet voice pulled him out of his trance, reviving him back to the moving world. He blinked rapidly and looked away, fiddling with the headphones, fixing it over Chanwoo’s small head. His thumping heart was echoing in his ears. He turned to the player and pressed play.

“Is the volume okay?”

Chanwoo bop his head. “Hhmm.”

Ju-ne stood up and leaned against the booth. He watched Chanwoo quietly. He tilted his head and unconsciously smiled softly. His heart warmed contently, his eyes unwaveringly on Chanwoo, observing on every little expression on Chanwoo’s face. The way he pressed the headphones to his ears, the way his lips pouted naturally and the way his doe eyes widen in pensiveness to the heart-breaking, poetic lyrics he was listening to. His heart fluttered. But it wasn’t the usual fluttering feeling, it was different. It was deeper. It was something else.

Chanwoo looked up at him with sparkling eyes and smiled, his dimples shamelessly poking out. He pulled the headphones away. “It’s your favourite song? It’s really nice.”

Ju-ne’s heart fluttered again. He knew immediately what it was.

He was in love with Chanwoo.

******

Chanwoo looked around the dark theatre, twisting his head to every corner. The seats were empty except by them. He turned to the tall man sitting next to him and raised his eyebrows. “You didn’t book the entire place, did you?”

“No!”

Chanwoo’s eyebrows raised higher at the high, shrill tone of voice.

“No,” Ju-ne said, lowering his voice. Okay, maybe he did. He pointedly stared at the screen. “Look, the movie is starting.”

Chanwoo smiled. He knew that Ju-ne was lying. “If you say so,” he murmured.

The room darkened and the screen began to play, filling the theatre with loud sounds vibrating through the speakers. But despite all of that, Chanwoo could see Ju-ne blushing.

******

From the corner of his eyes, Ju-ne saw Chanwoo leaned to his right and rest his arm on the armrest between them. He clenched his hand into a fist. His heart pounded. Holding his breath, he unclenched his hand and lifted it up slowly.

Chanwoo shuffled in his seat and pulled his hand away from the armrest and rested it on his thigh.

Ju-ne’s hand quickly went back down.

******

Chanwoo heard a sniffle. He glanced to his side and saw Ju-ne scrunching up his nose and blinking rapidly. He smiled softly. He doesn’t say anything and continued to gaze at Ju-ne silently.

But Ju-ne was so caught with his emotions and the dramatic scene of the movie, didn’t saw the way Chanwoo was looking at him tenderly like he was the only one in the world.

******

“You’re right,” Chanwoo said as they stepped outside the building. “The movie is a classic. It’s a bit dramatic but it’s really good and I enjoyed it.”

A light, cool breeze blew at them and Chanwoo pulled his mackintosh over his chest to protect himself from the slight chill.

Ju-ne grinned widely. “Right?! And it’s also proven by the people. It was a box-office hit and Park Shin-Yang won many Best Actor award for his role.” He sighed as he inhaled the cool night air. “What’s your favourite part of the movie?”

Chanwoo took a long beat of silence before answering. It used to annoyed Ju-ne but he realised that it was Chanwoo’s habit to think before speaking so he learned to be patient, learnt that it was who Chanwoo was, and now he was used to it. He let Chanwoo talk when he wanted to talk. He was starting to understand Chanwoo’s rhythm.

“The ending,” Chanwoo finally said.

There was a melancholic tone to his and Ju-ne was curious. He tilted his head and shuffled closer to Chanwoo and their arms brushed against each other.

“Why?”

“It was a happy ending. They had such a tragic love story and went through so much to get their happy ending and they did.” Chanwoo smiled at Ju-ne. “I like happy endings.”

“I didn’t know that,” Ju-ne teased. “Why do you like it?”

“Because happy endings doesn’t always happen in real life. But in movies they always do, so it’s nice.”

Ju-ne felt his heart tugged at those words and for a second he felt something heavy dropped to the bottom of his stomach. Those words, somehow, made him uneasy but he quickly shrugged it away. Maybe, he was interpreting it wrongly.

“Movies are inspired by real life so that means happy endings are also inspired by real life,” Ju-ne said.

They stopped walking and face each other. They have reached the car park and was now standing in front of Ju-ne’s car. The lights from the streetlamps around the car park created a golden halo around them and Ju-ne felt like he was in his own movie scene with Chanwoo especially as he was gazing into Chanwoo’s shinning eyes. Everything in this moment was perfect to him.

“Happy endings do happen in real life, Chanwoo. If it doesn’t, there’s always a choice.”

“A choice?”

“A choice to make a happy ending.”

Chanwoo felt lump in his throat, his heart turned heavy. He forced a small smile. “Yeah, there’s always a choice,” he said quietly.

His heart pounding, Ju-ne stepped forward and tentatively lift his hand up to cup Chanwoo’s face, his thumb caressing over the smooth skin of his cheek. His eyes flickered to Chanwoo’s lips and then to his eyes. The undecipherable brown orbs hypnotizing him. He leaned forward, his eyes fluttering shut and captured Chanwoo’s lips. He moved his lips, kissing him gently and softly. He sighed contently, happily when Chanwoo kissed him back.

“Chanwoo, your grandfather thinks he is a God and you are his greatest Creation. He has two sons who didn’t reached his standard, didn’t live up to his expectations but you do. You are everything he wants in an heir to this Empire that he holds above everything else.” Changmin looked directly into Chanwoo’s eyes. “You can’t escape God’s destiny, Chanwoo.”

“I’m not.” Chanwoo returned Changmin’s intense gaze. His eyes reflected defeat. “I’m not escaping it.”

Chanwoo’s eyes fluttered close when he felt Ju-ne’s lips on his. A surge of emotions, emotions that he fought so hard to keep at bay, to ignore, flooded his chest and spread throughout his body until every corner of his body, every organ was overwhelmed by it, drowning him.

“Fine,” he thought as he surrendered to Ju-ne. “Before I have to wake up, let’s have one last dream.”

His hand found Ju-ne’s and he entangled their fingers.