fourteen
A Worth Obsessing Over
Jung Daehyun was off the market.
“I’m not really good at this but I’d really like it if we could start…dating.” The single’s club was calling for his resignation because now, he had a beautiful woman by his side. “I know it’s kind of early but I got you something.” She wasn’t his ‘ideal type,’ that much was for sure. “It’s couples rings.” But she was cute, diabetically sweet, and she really had a way of making her man smile. “It’s weird. I know it might freak you out but I always wanted to have something like this.” He needed a change of ‘scenery’. “You don’t have to wear it now if you don’t want to.” Strangely enough, after all that has happened, Jung Daehyun was enjoying a side of life where he could love and be loved despite how much he tried to convince himself it was nothing more than a premeditated lie.
“Aigooo~,” Daehyun crooned, smiling at the simplicity of a gift that must’ve cost a fortune. “You make me feel like a gold-digger Myu Na.” At first glance, the ring appeared as if it held no significant value. It was plain and simple. The design itself depended solely upon a single engraved line that promised an everlasting kind of love Daehyun surely wasn’t ready for just yet. But perhaps it was the significance of that silver-lining that was worth more than life itself; or maybe it was the name of a world-renowned jeweler etched in the hallow surface that made this little trinket anything but priceless. “How much did this cost?”
“You don’t ask that kind of question when you get a gift.” The long strands of her hair ruffled slightly as she shook her head with a smile. “I’m not telling you how much it is. But if you must know…it didn’t cost that much.”
To her maybe, but to Daehyun, it probably would’ve made him file for bankruptcy. “Are you sure? I mean, you should’ve told me you went ‘couple ring’ shopping because I would’ve came with you.”
“And you would’ve insisted on paying for it.” She said almost disapprovingly. “Just don‘t worry about it, okay? If you want to spoil me, you can do it next week when you come over for dinner.” A kiss, so delicate and sweet, pecked lightly at his cheek with a warmth that soon weaved between every finger that tightened around her hand. They may have been ready for the devotion represented in a silver sterling ring, but the passion, the surge of desire, and the overwhelming waves of adrenaline a true kind of love was known to make the heart skip a beat, deprived him of a kiss that would've been placed upon supple lips. It had only been a week since they decided to start seeing each other under the shadows of secrecy.
Having been wounded by a previous relationship that was kept behind closed doors, Myu Na decided an open relationship was the only kind of relationship that was acceptable in her already complicated life. But before the student body caught wind of the news, and they determined the chemistry between them was well worth the effort in taking it to the next level, a family gathering was in order. Her parents was coming home next week. It had been so long since they had a meal together that she thought it was the perfect time to introduce her new boyfriend.
Dangerous to say the least, considering Yongguk was expected to be there too.
“I’ll call you tonight.” With a finally squeeze of his hand, she went off on her merry way with her newly fitted ring shimmering under the sunlight when she gleefully waved goodbye.
According to the tracking device he had planted in Junhong’s duffle bag, his purchases was kept safely in the comforts of his home. It hadn’t moved all week and he wondered if the bag of thongs would make its way back to the market soon, or find itself into his drawers for personal use. Daehyun shuddered at the thought of the latter and redirected his attention back on the laptop in front of him. The computer room designated for the School Newspaper was becoming his own personal safe haven as of late. It was his hiding place. Being one of the oldest rooms in the building, it provided him with the peace and tranquility he needed to concentrate on his new project in front of him without distractions.
His fingers danced over the keyboard, a very concentrated look focusing all his attention upon his work that eventually detached Daehyun from the world around him. Words splayed over the screen, a complicated series of codes (courtesy of Lay) inserted right in, and once the desired pictures were put into place, he leaned back in his chair to appreciate the possibility of his High school journal making its debut on the interweb.
BLACK AND BLUE AND RED ALL OVER, WHAT ARE YOU HIDING BEHIND THOSE COLORS ( dark/life-threatening )
MOON
JONG
UP
There is always a reason to hide behind the glasses and the nerdy wardrobe Mr. Geek Sheek wears from head to toe. Moon Jongup depends on those out-dated long sleeve flannel shirts and acid wash jeans because beneath the denim and the cotton are proof of an abuse he says nothing about. Explains why the battered puppy is so quiet. I'd slap a mouth guard over myself too if I came from a broken home. Overworked mother. Alcoholic father. Being an only child. Goddamn! Talk about ed up from the floor up! His cover stories are really something though. Linking his pain, the bruises and his cuts to skateboarding accidents and slip-ups during his choreography is rather plain, but kind of ingenious...in a way. But how long can he keep this up until his secrets can no longer stay a secret?
two barrels of tears will not heal a bruise
“What is this?”
Daehyun was so engrossed in his work that he didn’t hear Youngjae walk in. “I’m just thinking of putting what we have in our book on the computer. It’ll make slapping photos on there and making everything looking organize a lot easier.”
They hadn’t had a proper exchange of words ever since Daehyun tried to kick a trashcan to death in Itaewon. He just knew it was coming. The throng of queries that was no doubt itching at the back of Youngjae’s throat was prevalent in the eyes that stared down at him as if waiting for Daehyun to come out and say what was practically written all over the other’s face.
“What do you think of it?” But there he went again, trying to escape the inescapable.
“It’s good. As long as you’re not posting it on the internet, then it’s good.” Youngjae usually put up a fight about these sort of things. Change was never something he was too keen on accepting, especially when it came to their journal. But that really didn’t matter now. What mattered the most was the man who sat stiffly in his seat.
“So what’s been going on with you lately?”
Youngjae took the seat beside him and shrugged his shoulders. “Just been thinking is all.”
“Thinking?”
“Yeah…I’ve been thinking how much personal secrets we have in our lives and how much we actually share with one another.” A smile never once touched his lips. He’d usually be the type of person who turned his own frown upside down for the sake of lightening up the mood, but now he was just solemn, a bit sad and unusually calm. “Because we never hid anything from each other. We always made it a habit to disclose just about every secret we ever had because it was some sort of sign of trust between friends…or at least that’s what you said.”
Daehyun nodded slowly as he tried to figure out where he was getting at with all this. “Yeah, that’s what I said. And that’s how friendships should be like for it to last.” He paused for a moment. “Why? Are you hiding something from me?
Youngjae sighed. Daehyun was never the sharpest tool in the shed. Take his ability to multiply simple numbers like eight and six for instance - he thought that equaled 79! “I’m not hiding anything. I just agree with you that friendships are built on a mutual exchange of disclosure. So I’m just going to be straightforward and ask …do you need to disclose anything to me?”
He thought about it for a moment, really weighed the other’s words, and his gaze even riveted to the ceiling as if taking to consideration that maybe, just maybe, Youngjae knew what was going on. “Nope.” But he refused to take the chance to come clean. “Nothing really comes to mind. But I did tell you I’m hanging out with Kris and the others again, right?”
“Yeah you did, and I responded to that with blatant disapproval because they’re no good for you. ” Disappointed by the boldface lie and everything else their conversation stood for, Youngjae got out of his seat and headed toward the door.
“Where you going?”
“Places.” Out of everything they’ve done together and the little traits that practically defined them as a person, Youngjae depended upon nothing more than Daehyun’s honesty. He relied on a truth that made it possible for him to stick by his friend through thick and thin. But there he was, slamming the door and creating as much distance between them as possible because now he had to find out the truth for himself.
Youngjae decided it was for Daehyun’s own good that he’d be allowed to break a few of the rules they set for their journal by uncovering a secret Daehyun thought was worth hiding.
“Who’s that?” A little girl, whose personality was practically made of spun sugar, pointed at the picture that was held in her oppa’s hand. He took her on his knee and the little 6-year-old beamed a smile upon seeing the photo in all its joyful glory. There was a man who reminded her of her favorite Cheshire cat, his wide, toothy grin, so warm and so very gentle to the eyes, made the male out to be a person she would like to meet one day. “Is he your friend Oppa?”
Yongguk made a face. “I don’t like him very much.” He answered with a tongue stuck out in all exaggeration.
“That’s a bad word Oppa.”
“What’s a bad word?”
The girl hovered an index finger over the picture once again. It was only when she pouted to him did he see the cryptic light to his mistake. But it was to late for him to reverse the hands of time when she was already demanding for a solution to what he believe was an unsolvable problem. “You can’t say you don’t like someone. It’s bad. So you have to be punished.”
A frown flitted across his face. “I was just kidding around Yuri. Oppa doesn’t need punishment.”
“B-But you need to…You have to Oppa. That’s what you do to us when we fight.” She looked to the other little children that was finding some enjoyment in the books the facility provided. “It’s not fair if you don’t get punished.”
“Okay okay…I’ll be punished.” He sighed in defeat. “What’s the punishment again?”
For what felt like the 20th time that day, she poked at the lovely man in the picture before looking up at the gummy smile her oppa was known for. “10 things. You gotta say 10 nice things about…um…” twisted and her brow arched in wonder of a name Yongguk had yet to introduce.
“Jung Daehyun.” It was utter bull. He couldn’t come up with one ‘nice thing’ to say about Jung ing Daehyun even if his life depended on it. Put his head in a guillotine and maybe, if he was lucky, he'd manage to give out one or two compliments that was stretching the truth, but ten - ten was kind of suicidal.
“Jung Daehyun Oppa.” Yuri smiled in delight. “Okay go Oppa. Say nice things.”
Where to even begin? “Um…Daehyun is…erm…he’s very… energetic?”
Not a compliment to say the least but in Yuri’s eyes, it was more than acceptable. “That’s one…nine more Oppa.”
“Jung Daehyun is very determined.”
“Two.”
“He never let’s people bring him down, which makes him very competitive.”
“Three.”
“Daehyun is…he is a man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants and that makes him a persistent, daring and a very clever man.”
“Four.”
This was a lot harder than he thought it would be when he first made up the rule to amend the peace between bickering children. He was answering as honestly as he could, but when he came up short of another compliment to get him half way to his goal, Yongguk gently rested his chin upon the crown of the child’s head, his lips sputtering out yet another sigh.
“Come on Oppa, You’re almost there.”
His eyes fell to the photo and roved over features that were instilled with a pleasant smile he hadn’t the pleasure to see in person. “Jung Daehyun.“ It was out of pure disdain that almost always twisted Daehyun’s lips into a grin of animosity, the very corners lifting in a challenge that did its work in ridiculing those he saw fit to push into the dark. There was no light, not a single spark to liven up a mien that was otherwise well suited for the smile that revealed itself upon the photo in his hand. “He’s arrogant.”
“Ar-rorgant?” Yuri pursed her lips in confusion.
“It means he thinks he’s better than everyone.”
“Isn’t that bad?”
It was indeed ’bad’ on so many levels, and yet Yongguk chuckled with a small smirk lilting his features. “It is sometimes…but his kind of arrogance is good in some ways. He just turns a very boring day into an entertaining one and that‘s something most people can‘t do.” Whenever Daehyun was around, and whenever he does something so stupid and so unlike anything he could ever imagine, it felt as if the redundancy of every day life washed away by the tides of excitement that could turn any calm river into an embankment best suited for the thrills that are usually experienced in extreme sports. It was fun.
Daehyun antics was just something money couldn’t buy.
“I think he really does have a great smile if he wore it more often.” Because when teeth gleamed in that heart racing, mind-boggling and lung-grappling grin, it only seem to have so much potential in brightening up one’s day. “Sure, he has his dumb secrets and he sneaks around a lot but I guess that’s the charm to him.” It was a give and take. Yongguk would give into the stress, the neurotic compulsions, and the bilious brooding that made him want to throw Daehyun in a ditch; but, in a way, it was all for the sake of taking what Daehyun had to offer. “There’s just never a dull moment when you’re around him and that feeling of excitement and zeal can probably be compared to receiving the newest toy on the market.” Not that people should ever be thought of as inanimate objects, but Yuri was six, it wasn’t like she could grasp the entirety of their conversation anyways.
“You never know what he’s thinking and it’s frustrating sometimes.” Being one step ahead of him was always the ultimate goal whenever he was around. “It’s challenging but what does one really gain when you’re not putting up a fight for something you really want?” And between the ups and downs that came with rivalry, there remained at least one victorious moment in a game that really shapes a person for better or for worst. Yongguk wasn’t sure which one of the two had influenced his life.
It was simply a matter of waiting for that moment in a game when the prize is in your hand and you ask yourself: 'Was this worth the fight?'
“He really does everything he can to get what he wants and that’s sort of admirable since he has a part-time job to support his family.”
“Oppa.”
“He has this weird habit of touching people’s hair too. I just realized that.”
“Oppa?”
“And he always has food near him at all times. I think he goes around the cafeteria asking people for food when he already has a lot with him.”
“Yongguk Oppa.”
“And that look in his eyes when he’s-”
“Oppa!” His senses came to full attention when the ear-piercing shriek of the little girl announced, “You already said more than 10.”
“Oh, I did?” Well then, at least now he was off the hook.
“Yeah. And mama just came in.” They both turned to the front entrance where a middle-age woman waited for her little girl. She hopped off of his lap, pulling him up with her in that same possessiveness that tucked her favorite bear beneath her arm at all times. “I’m going to see you again okay Oppa.”
“Of course and you better do your homework the second you get home like you promised.” He pointed at her with that reproached look in his eyes that was both playful and mildly intimidating in a way that sent giggles passing through upturned lips.
The innocence that radiated from a child’s smile relayed within the purity of a mind that could differentiate between good and evil. They saw people for who they truly were, acted in ways that conveyed such accurate discoveries and depended upon the intimate notation of certain emotions to keep those they care for close while they shunned all those who buried them under a stormy cloud of fear and despair. Unlike adults, children saw no need to hide behind masks, and it was the austerity of their actions and their feelings that made it worth Yongguk’s time to watch over them and teach them all they had to know in a child day care center he volunteered at every weekend.
After saying his goodbyes, he soon took his leave after he was sure everything was in order. “Now what?” He didn’t usually have plans, other than basketball practice, on the weekends. With the big game coming up in a week, his couch thought it was best to enjoy a couple of days of respite time before all hell really broke loose during practice next Monday. “So I can either go home or buy me some new-”
He stumbled, nearly found himself falling face first into the floor when someone rammed into his shoulder. Yongguk whirled around to see the retreating figure of a man who shouted an incomprehensible slur of an apology without so much as sparing him a seconds glance. An air of urgency whirled about the male, his head twisted left and right when he hit a stoplight in waiting for the opportune moment to break the law by blitzing his way through traffic. Horns blared, an accident almost occurred but did that stop the idiot from running like a madman?
Of course not because when that bastard circled in place with eyes darting between his phone and the street signs above, Yongguk was neither floored or surprised by who he saw. “Jung Daehyun.”
He could’ve taken his couch’s advice and probably do the most girlish thing in the world by booking a spa day before basketball boot camp came into full swing. But what was the fun in that when Yongguk could be tailing the man who ran across town for a secret that was just around the corner.
A/N: So my brain really and I'm having a whole lot of writer's block...I know what I want to do but the words aren't coming to me as quickly ;n; Sobbing my sadness away lulz
Buuuutt~ I would like to say thank you so so much miss_ai for the upvote....I just have to say I loooovve that smiley daehyun gif okay.../dies from adorableness/
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