chanyeol/jongdae
pg
in which jongdae has a bad day, goes to the beach, and gets hit on.

title: when karma owes you

Today, Jongdae is more than a little annoyed at the way the day is panning out.  This morning had his alarm failing to go off and when he'd stepped outside in a rush to get to work, the sprinklers had gone off at the wrong second, soaking Jongdae to the bone.  He had spilled his coffee trying to avoid the slick grass and had also nearly tripped from the neighbor's Golden Retriever rushing over to say a good morning.

"I'm so sorry for this, young man" Mrs. Lee tells Jongdae, trying to wipe the moisture off of Jongdae's suit.

"It's really not Chewie's fault Mrs. Lee.  I'm fine.  Really."

"No, I insist.  Give me your phone number and I'll dry clean that suit right up for you."

"It's alright Mrs. Lee.  I swear it's not yours or Chewie's fault.  You could even say... it's my own fault."

Jongdae bows and rushes off.  Just a few days ago, his car had been called in for a maintenance recall and was in the shop.  With no car to drive, Jongdae looks on the app on his phone to view the bus schedule and as he runs to catch the next bus, Jongdae mutters under his breath with a roll of his eyes.

"It's my own fault for being born."

The rest of the day plays out similarly and ends with Jongdae having to stay late because of a report that his co-workers pin on him.  Miss Son has dinner with her fiance and Mr. Kim has a prior engagement with his in laws.  They each make apologetic faces and promise to buy him lunch in the future.  Jongdae sighs and wonders what he did to deserve this unlucky day.  As he puts the finishing touches on his report, he has a icky feeling that the bad karma is sticking to him - saturating his very skin.   So, it's for this reason that when his superior Kim Minseok asks if Jongdae wants to use his timeshare on a property in Busan, Jongdae jumps at the chance to change his luck.

"It's right on the beach" Minseok tells him.  "I was going to use it this weekend, but my partner is sick so..."

"I'm so sorry to hear about Junmyeon hyung."

Minseok waves his concern away with a small grateful smile.  "It's just the flu, but he refuses to move a muscle.  You better use the place to your full advantage!"

"Yes sir!" Jongdae chirps, glad that he has such awesome friends.  "I'll use it well!  Thank you!"

"Now, let's go home.  We've been at work for too long."

And with that, Jongdae skips home, smiling happily even though he steps in a pile of dog poop at the end of his street.  And even though, this time it really is Chewie's fault, Jongdae gives the dog a fond pat on his head before heading inside his home. 

Starting tonight, it's the weekend and he's got some packing to do.

Kim Minseok's timeshare cottage is on the smaller side, but it's cozy and clean and, like Minseok had said, it was right on the beach.  Jongdae sighs happily as he leans back on the lounge chair.  His sunglasses are in place against the warm sun and his toes are pleasantly covered with a thin layer of sand.  He's got some sunscreen on his skin and a generous glob on his nose, but there's also an ocean breeze running through strands of his hair which draws an easy smile on his face.  His earphones are forgotten back inside the cottage, but Jongdae can't bring himself to care as he listens to the sound of the waves breaking on the shoreline. 

Jongdae's in the middle of humming one of his favorite summer songs when a large shadow creeps up on him, blocking the delightfully warm UV rays.  Jongdae starts to frown before he looks up at the offending obstacle that's putting a barrier between him and the sun.

"Excuse me" a deep, sultry voice rumbles.  "Are you here alone?"

It's an old-fashioned pick-up line if he ever heard one and Jongdae is a little bit annoyed and a tiny bit flattered at the same time.  But this is supposed to be his stress-free, healing time alone on the beach.  It wouldn't be truly healing time, unless-

Jongdae's eyes register the long legs, the swim trucks sporting a nice bulge, and the toned abs.

"Ahem" Jongdae clears his throat before speaking.  "And if I am?" he asks coyly, deciding to take a chance.

The man's face comes into view after a few beats, Jongdae's eyes getting used to the shade after being in the sun.  The stranger's face is doing a good job just like the rest of his body and Jongdae's lips curl into a pleasant smile at the man's deep laughter.

"Then may I accompany you?  My name is Chanyeol.  Park. Chanyeol.  I'm here alone too."

Sticking out his hand in what Jongdae assumes is supposed to be a suave gesture, the man named Park Chanyeol nearly slaps Jongdae in the face.  Lucky for the tall man, Jongdae gives him the benefit of the doubt for the man's apparent lack of depth of field vision.

"What brings you here, Mr. Park?" Jongdae asks, eyeing the drink in his hand.  "Pleasure?  Business?"

"Can't it be a little bit of-"

Park Chanyeol flashes his pearly whites before sitting on the edge of Jongdae's reclining chair.  Jongdae gets a whiff of peach schnapps and vodka before the man's weight sends Jongdae flying as the chair flips.

Hot sand enters his mouth and Jongdae grits his teeth as he feels his sunglasses breaking on his nose.  There's something cold on his legs and it takes a second before Jongdae realizes that it's Chanyeol's drink, split all over the sand and him.  The stickiness from the pink drink makes the sand cling to Jongdae's skin.

"Oh no!  Oh my god, I am so, so sorry."

Chanyeol it seems, is uninjured as he hurries to Jongdae's side to help Jongdae up.  Jongdae spits out as much sand as he can before inhaling slowly, willing himself not to explode in anger at this man who seems really bad at flirting.  It's not really the man's fault, Jongdae supposes.  Perhaps it's Jongdae's bad luck from yesterday coming to haunt him.

"Can I get you anything?" Park Chanyeol asks Jongdae, who sits up on the beach, right where he's landed.  "Anything at all?"

Jongdae opens his mouth but doesn't say anything.  He's trying to choose between 'Get the hell out of here' or 'You can buy me dinner'.  On the one hand, this guy was cutting into his healing time, but on the other...  Jongdae looks up at the man's apologetic face.  He's Jongdae's type alright and if Jongdae were being a little more flexible, he'd say the awkward, bumbling thing was endearing.

Jongdae gets as far as "You can-" before Park Chanyeol says, "How about some on the beach?"

Jongdae grimaces in an instant, lowering his sunglasses to glare at the man.  There was forward and then there was just downright crude.

"Excuse me?!  Now see here Mr. Park, I-" Jongdae starts to shout.

The man flushes red from neck to forehead as he jumps up, waving his hands frantically as he stutters his words. 

"No.  No, I-  I- I- don't-  I mean, what I mean is-  The drink!  A mixed drink!  It's called ' on the Beach'.  I didn't mean-"

"Ah."

It clicks - the drink, the smell, the name - and Jongdae remains slack-jawed for a minute before he bursts out laughing.  It's a pure, unadulterated sort of guffaw that has Jongdae throwing his head back and leaning into the sand for support.  The man is still lamely pointing to Jongdae's legs.

"That's what I was drinking before I spilled it on you" Chanyeol says, half pouting at Jongdae's laughter and half apologetic.

"Alright" Jongdae says, wiping a tear from his eyes from the laughter.  "Come on."

Jongdae extends a hand out to the man standing in front of him.  Chanyeol looks down at Jongdae with confused eyes.

"Come on" Jongdae repeats, shaking his outstretched hand.  "Help me up, Mr. Park."

"Oh."

The grip is firm and Jongdae his lips before scrunching his nose.  There's still some sandy bits in his mouth.

"Let's get me cleaned up first.  And then", Jongdae clears his throat before peering up at Chanyeol demurely.  "Then, you can buy me dinner ... and a new pair of sunglasses."