8
CHEN-derellaAfter claiming his music player, Jongdae avoided Xiumin as much as possible. It was easy doing that at the university because the producer only goes there for the singing competition. But at the cafè, it was not that easy. Jongdae refrains from being at the cashier and would always stay at the back counter.
Yesung, who had officially taken his place, would tell him that Xiumin is always looking for him. And then Yesung would tell Xiumin that Jongdae is busy at the back counter memorizing notes while mixing drinks and brewing coffees.
Which is partly true, since Jongdae's College Symphony will start soon and he needs to prepare greatly for it. The College Symphony is a major exam for all the Junior Music Majors in SNU. A large portion of their final grade will come from their performance in this. But the whole truth is Jongdae can not face Xiumin. Jongdae does not want to talk to Xiumin because he does not want to lie anymore. But he realized that talking and not talking to Xiumin is lying all the same.
One day, Yesung took a leave for the day, leaving Jongdae no other choice but to be the cashier boy (It's not that Jungsoo is having employee shortage, it's just that he trusts no one else except Jongdae, Yesung, and Donghae with the handling of money). At first, he thought Jungsoo would help him out of it but in the end it was Jungsoo who pushed him to the front counter before telling him to do something about whatever he has done. Earning him a small chuckle from Donghae. Jongdae even received a note from his hyung saying;
'Face your fears.'
'Face my ' He thought dejectedly.
But they're right. Jongdae can't hide from Xiumin any longer. It's either he tell Xiumin the truth or continue to pretend that he does not know Chen.
Jongdae prefers the latter.
And right now he knows that anyone reading this would want to give him a hit on the head for being such a coward and an idiot. But Jongdae has his reasons for doing this. So he stood there at the counter dreading the time when a familiar face would enter the cafè.
And as if the Gods who hated Jongdae heard him, not even a nanosecond passed when Xiumin's familiar, handsome, crest-fallen face (as if he exchanged place with Atlas in carrying the weight of the world) appeared in front of him.
"Hey, long time no see." Xiumin greeted with a small smile upon finally seeing Jongdae.
"Uh.. Yeah, long time no see." Jongdae just repeated, having nothing else to say.
"Do you think you could get off for ten minutes?" Xiumin asked wearily after giving his order.
"I'll try." Jongdae said.
"Thanks a lot." The older said then went to his table.
"Xiumin-ssi?" Jongdae called Xiumin's attention. The latter was playing with his Chaí, stirring it in a counter-clockwise direction. He looked up at Jongdae and smiled before gesturing to sit on the chair opposite him.
"So what do you want to talk about?"
Xiumin stopped playing with his Chaí and looked at Jongdae. Right now he is not surprised that Jongdae's gaze is fixed on his face. "Chen... He claimed it."
Jongdae's stomach churned, he already saw this coming. But it feels different when you are already at the moment. It feels worse, much much worse than just anticipating it. He could feel his heart banging agains his chest. He remained silent and waited until Xiumin spoke again.
"But his name, I was not able to bet it. He still wrote Chen." Xiumin sighed.
"I... I'm really sorry to hear that."
It was the only thing Jongdae could say. Everything that he had practiced for this moment was erased from his mind. The sight of Xiumin looking so dejected was the cause of it. He should be telling Xiumin that it is alright, that there is still a chance that he will find Chen soon, but right now, Jongdae cannot utter another lie. He cannot give Xiumin false hopes any longer and break his heart. Jongdae could hear his conscience congratulating him for a job well done of crushing and trampling on Xiumin's hopes.
"No, it's fine Jongdae-ssi, you do not have to apologize. I should be the one apologizing for disturbing you on your work and forcing you to listening on these nonsense."
"It's nothing and no one is forcing me, it is my own choice. I really wish I could help you."
'You could help by telling him who you are.' His mind said.
"You being here is already a great help, Jongdae, thank you." Xiumin smiled at Jongdae. But the the latter noticed that it did not reached his eyes. It was a strained smile, laced with disappointment... And pain?
"Xiumin-ssi, do you like Chen?" Jongdae found himself saying and when he realized what he said, he gasped. "I'm sorry for asking, don't mind my question." He quickly waved it off. Because honestly, Jongdae did not want to know. If Xiumin does like Chen, it would break his resolve to not tell him who he is. And if Xiumin does not, it would only break his heart.
Jongdae saw Xiumin open his mouth to still answer his question. He quickly stood up, startling the older. "I'm really sorry, I need to go back." He quickly bowed and started to walk away.
Xiumin stared at Jongdae's retreating figure. He was startled and puzzled at the latter's sudden action. But most of all, he was startled at the younger's question.
'Do you like Chen?'
'Do I?' He thought. Xiumin would be lying if he will say that he did not feel anything when he first saw Chen. If liking Chen means having his heart flutter at. The man's memory and feeling so down at not having to see him, then maybe he does like Chen.
'And what about Jongdae?'
Now Xiumin's more than startled at the follow-up question his mind conjured. His eyes darted to the counter. He frowned when it was not the man he was expecting to see that he saw.
Jongdae.
Jongdae is easy to talk to. He is brilliant and talented. Jongdae makes him feel light and happy every time they talk. Jongdae is the reason why he is always looking forward to coming in this cafè. Xiumin noticed that Jongdae does not smile often but when he does, Xiumin thinks it's dazzling. And Jongdae has deep eyes that could bore into anyone's soul. And Jongdae has a subtle innocence that haunts him.
Where does Jongdae stand in his life? Friend? No, they have not agreed on that part yet, but do they need to? Acquaintance? No, they are clearly more than that. Jongdae is......just someone.
Someone who Xiumin cannot explain coherently in words. But no doubt, Jongdae is someone special to him.
He pulled out a pen from his back pocket and grabbed a piece of tissue paper. After scribbling something down, he went to the front counter.
"Excuse me..." Xiumin called the man's attention. He was the same man who called Jongdae from last time. 'Manager Jungsoo' his name tag read.
"Yes?"
"Could you give this to Jongdae? And please tell him, 'thank you' for his time." He handed the tissue paper to Jungsoo.
"Noted and will be sent to Jongdae." The manager said before flashing him a dimpled smile to which Xiumin returned, except for the dimple part. He thanked the man then bowed before walking out of the cafè
'Check out my blog'
-Xiumin
Those words are echoing inside Jongdae's head from the moment he read it until he is now finally sitting in front of his computer. Why would Xiumin want Jongdae to see his blog? He thought as he typed down the url.
After a few seconds, Xiumin's blog finally loaded and the producer's latest post made Jongdae tKe a double look. After hitting the refresh button for 12,345 times, Jongdae finally believed that what he saw is real.
It is really there. A part of his song is posted on Xiumin's blog. Xiumin's blog that gets at least 20,000 hits a day. And he cannot help but think that 20,000 people will see his song. Jongdae scrolled down and below is a not from Xiumin.
'Chen-ssi, if you are even reading this, I would really want to talk to you. If it isn't much trouble, please do leave a message. I apologize for posting your song without permission but it is too beautiful to not be seen by many.'
'I will wait for your message.'
-XiuMinSeok
Jongdae was left speechless after reading Xiumin's short message. So this is why Xiumin asked him to check out his blog. To let Jongdae know that Xiumin will not give up on finding Chen; on finding him.
Right now, Jongdae is battling with himself if he should leave a message, not to tell Xiumin who he is but to at least let him know that Chen got his attention. And also to thank him for returning the music player. And also to tell him that he cannot accept his offer at their company.
In the next minute, Jongdae found himself making an account, with only 'Chen' as the name and no other contact details. He did not even uploaded a picture. By the time Jongdae had completed the registration process and had gone back to Xiumin's latest post, he saw that at least fifty users had replied, claiming that they are Chen.
Jongdae does not know if he should laugh or get totally bewildered at the sight. But he cannot deny that he is a tiny bit flattered. For the first time in his life, a lot of people want to be him. Jongdae chuckled at the thought.
But because of that, another problem entered his mind. Now how is he going to prove that he is the real Chen?
Xiumin sighed as he pasted the question 'What did you left in the music room?' in the reply box for the nth time that night. It did not occur to him that at least a hundred users would claim that they are Chen. Xiumin knows that 99% of them are just posing as Chen still, he cannot let go of this little hope that the remaining 1% would really be him. So Xiumin decided to ask each one to tell him the object that Chen left in the music room. This way, he'll be able to find out who the real one is.
At least not after reading ridiculous answers such as 'Xiumin's heart', 'a hundred million Won', 'a ?' Like what the actual ef?
So far, five people answered 'music player' and all five failed to give him him the correct color of the object. Xiumin roughly ruffled his hair in annoyance. His eyes caught the hands of the clock and he realized that he had wasted an hour of his life having a question-and-answer portion on his blog. It's already one in the morning, which means it's already Sunday.
'Fifteen minutes more.' He thought, since he does not have work on Sundays (does not go to work on Sundays would be the more appropriate term). 'Fifteen minutes more then I will stop with this joke.'
Xiumin refreshed the page and ten new messages popped up. He immediately pasted the question on those messages until he reached the 8th one.
Chen: Because of you, I got my iPod back, so thank you very much. ^^ I'm so glad to have it back. And it's okay, I forgive you for publicizing my song and thank you also for finding it beautiful. I am deeply honored. ^^
Xiumin's interest was caught by this user in instant. This 'Chen' was the first to mention about getting his music player back. He clicked on the username at once and he is lead to the user's profile page. This Chen does not have any post. Does not have a display picture and does not have anything written in his 'About Me' section except the words;
'It's me who will always sing this love song, only for you.'
Xiumin was utterly dazed. It was the last line of Chen's song and he's sure that it is not part of what he had posted earlier. He thought of all the people who he thinks knew the song.
It all came down to these three;
Chen, because it was written by him.
Xiumin, because he found the rough draft of the song.
Sunny, because according to her, Chen gave it to her.
Xiumin is sure that Jongdae does not know the lyrics because he never told the latter. (And speaking of him, did he receive my note? Xiumin thought). So is this really Chen? Xiumin would really want to believe that it is him but he learned the consequences of letting his hopes get high, specially when it concerns Chen.
Xiumin thought for a moment, and finally, dropping all his doubts, sent back a reply.
XiuMinSeok: What university are you attending?
Xiumin sat quietly, anticipating 'Chen's' reply. He almost fell from just seating when he received one instantly.
Chen: Seoul National University. Violin Major if you would like to know as well. ^^
Xiumin's lips curved into a smile. This is definitely Chen. He is certain. He quickly typed back a reply.
XiuMinSeok: I kind of figured that out after scanning your playlist. I hope you don't mind that I did.
Chen: No, not at all ^^ I'm just glad that I finally got it back. Thank you again ^^
Xiumin's smile widened. He found Chen's constant use of smileys cute. He typed another reply.
XiuMinSeok: Can I ask you something?
Chen: You are already asking, but sure, I'll answer your next question. ^^
Xiumin chuckled at his own dumbness and at Chen's reply.
XiuMinSeok: You're right :) Anyway, may I know your real full name?
Xiumin thinks it must have been the longest three minutes of his life until Chen finally replied.
Chen: I can't. Sorry :( At least not right now, but I'll tell you eventually.
Xiumin's heart dropped at Chen's message. The first word that entered his mind was 'Why?' but for some reason, he can't type it down. He sighed and opted to type down a different set of words.
XiuMinSeok: Okay, I won't force you if you don't want to tell me.
Chen: Thank you ^^
It's late, I got to go.
Xiumin's heart sank even deeper. But he has no other choice, does he?
XiuMinSeok: I understand :) It's nice to finally talk to you Chen-ssi, I hope you don't bug out on me this time. :)
Chen: This time? Have I done it before?
XiuMinSeok: Yes, a couple of times. But unconsciously though.
Chen: That's weird. Good night and thanks again, and don't worry, I won't bug out on you..... this time, whatever that meant. Bye ^^
XiuMinSeok: Bye! :) and you're welcome. And thank you too. :)
Chen: ^^
XiuMinSeok: ^^
And after that, Chen did not reply any longer for that night. Despite failing to get his name Xiumin still managed to let out a genuine smile. Finally, he acquired a direct form of communication with Chen. Xiumin is already happy with that.
And of course, he can't wait to tell Jongdae.
Eniize: chapter eight up! Tell me what you think, neh? :) do you guys know where i can watch an eng subbed video of exoin hello counselor?
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