(Taec)

‘Hello?’ ‘I was about to call you and you called,’ I laughed.

-‘Oh really. Looks like you and I have such a great telepathy eh?’ he teased.

-‘Hey Taec listen, uhm. I have a staff that needs to go down to Jeju Island for some urgent ingredients-related business. But… the flight’s all booked up. I…. will get her to call you tomorrow… is that okay?’

I chuckled, ‘why is it that… every time you look for me, it is to help you settle one of those those tedious and really unpleasant matters huh?’

-‘When did I…’ he whined, ‘when I feel like having supper, I would call you too, right?’

‘Yes yes you would call,’ I rolled my eyes.

-‘How about you?’ he asked, ‘why were you looking for me?’

‘To boast about something…’

-‘Boast about what?’

‘Regarding the hundred million won red packet competition, I think I am one step ahead of you~’

-‘Are you serious?!’ He exclaimed.

-‘Eh, Ok Taecyeon, tell me truthfully. Did you cheat? Is that why you involved me in your ridiculous bet?’

‘Ha, I’m not that devious alright!’ I rebutted.

-‘Then… how is it that you’re leading huh?’ he asked.

~ ‘Nichkhun Buck Horvejkul! How old are you already, huh? How could you leave things like your bank book lying around the place huh? Try losing your bank book again, and you will probably get yourself missing as well. You are really one of a kind. Come, let me find for you.’~

Khun then whined, ‘I have already told you I’m sure I didn’t lose it, Mom.’

~ ‘I’ll search your study desk, oh my gawd, it’s so messy. And your dressing table, and those bags of yours in the wardrobe, I must really search through them thoroughly.’~

‘Mom~ please don’t rummage through my things. I’ve already searched there before. So please just leave my room, I’ll find it myself.’

‘Hello,’ Khun, who had returned his attention to me, called out.

‘What did you lose again huh?’ I laughed, knowing how messy and forgetful the Thai could be.

‘I didn’t lose it,’ he stated, ‘I… I just temporarily forgot where I put it.’

~ ‘It’s that Taecyeon?’~

‘Yeah it is,’ he replied his mom.

~ ‘Ask him: why hasn’t he come to our house for a meal for so long?’~

‘Taec, my mom’s asking why you haven’t come over for a meal for so long.’

‘Help me tell Eomonim, it’s because no one invited me.’

‘It’s because he’s currently dating, mom,’ he told his mom teasingly.

~ ‘Oh? You mean him and that Mr Joo have reconciled?’~ 

‘Did you and Mr Joo – oh wait no mom, it’s not. It’s a new one,’ he giggled, over the line.

~ ‘Really? Eh eh eh, tell him to bring him over for me to take a look. See if he has any fate with me. ~

I laughed at how cute the mother and son sounded over the phone, secretly enjoying their conversation.

‘You’re not even Mrs Ok, why should he have fate with you huh?’

~ ‘You tell Taecyeon. It’s simply because I’m not his mom. I can be more objective! ~

‘Okay, okay. You go tell him yourself.’

~ ‘What no, you tell him. Don’t pass the phone to me. Nichkhun Buck Horvejkul!’~

There was this weird shuffling sound on the phone. My eyebrow raised, he probably just passed his phone to his mom.

‘Hi Taecyeon.’ Khun’s mom greeted me in a sweet voice.

‘Eomonim~ how are you? And how is Khun’s dad?’ I replied politely.

‘I’m great,’ she chortled, ‘Khun’s dad is good as well, we are all doing great! He still lives his life like a king, having people to serve him and all~’

I laughed, ‘that’s great, at least you’re doing good. I will drop by soon okay Eomonim~ have a good night. Ne, I will I will. Okay, bye~’

I put down my phone and laughed. Maybe it was really time I paid a visit to the Horvejkul household.

*

(Khun)

‘Hi Taecyeon~’ my mom said, in a sugar-coated voice. I just rolled my eyes and carried on finding my bank book.

‘I’m great,’ she laughed a little, ‘Khun’s dad is good as well, we are all doing great! He still lives his life like a king, having people to serve him and all~’

After flipping through some more clothes in my wardrobe, and I gave up. I took one last glance at my mom on the phone with Taec before heading downstairs to the living room, and plopping down onto the sofa.

‘Khun ah~’ my dad called out, as I popped a piece of rock melon into my mouth and laid down on the couch, making myself comfortable.

‘Hmm?’

‘Your high school classmate… why is he a weather broadcaster now?’ he asked, puzzled.

‘Oh… ‘Cause after the divorce, his wife removed him from the prime time slot and demoted him to weather reporting.’ I replied nonchalantly.

‘Wow… his wife really has quite a few tricks up her sleeves, huh.’ My dad mumbled in amazement.

‘She’s their news department manager, so definitely she has tricks.’

‘Not bad huh, girls nowadays are really incredible.’ He complimented, ‘such a young age and she’s a manager already.’

‘Well, not that young actually,’ I mocked.

‘Oh?’ he turned to look at me, eyebrow raised in questioning.

‘Heard that she’s older than him by… 8 years?’

‘No wonder they divorced.’

My brows furrowed.

‘Why no wonder?’

‘Men are dumb. We like to play hero. If we’re not careful and we marry an older and more competent wife, then we’ll never be able to play hero, right? So we can then only resort to do strange things outside the marriage.’

‘No wonder those little girls outside like to think of you old men as heroes,’ my mom approached us and . I absentmindedly wondered where my mom left my phone after she got off the line with Taec.

‘Dad, then why do you always preach the importance for me to be a hero and whatnot? Plus having a super successful career?’ I argued.

‘Only then, can you have options to choose, be it boy or girl. And then you can find your true hero, Khun.’ (A/N: yes, in this story, both Taec & Khun’s parents are somewhat supportive of gay marriage. I’m personally not in favour of parents that are homophobes and whatnot, I mean parents are becoming more and more open-minded and accepting nowadays so yeap.)

‘Can you understand, Khun? No? Those who are weaker than and not as good as you, or those who either fail to meet your mark, or are afraid to woo you. And by the means of elimination, would you not be left with the eligible guys and girls from the cream of the crop?’

My mom laughed.

‘From the way you said it, you make it sound as though your son’s extremely brilliant.’ ‘Take a look at him, he has got no posture when he sits. Look at his face, he doesn’t have an exceptional appearance.’

I glared at her, ‘who doesn’t have an exceptional appearance? Excuse you Mom, I think I have a wonderful complexion that none can imitate.’ I thought.

‘His temper is quirky,’ she continued, ‘he works tirelessly. He is just someone who cooks food. And yet he talks about hitting it big with cooking, when he should really be dating instead. What talks about picking out from the best? If people do not reject you, I would already be thanking the heavens,’ my mom signalled the end of her rant by slapping my thigh.

‘Mom…’ I whined as I kicked her playfully.

‘Tsk Mom, breaking your son’s confidence like this. Such methods of education will fail you know,’ I pouted.

‘Just ignore your mom,’ my dad said, ‘what does she know about men, huh?’

‘Yeah, I don’t know much. But I really don’t get it, that guy Henry, the sous chef and also that head chef girl, ah yeah, Hyojin. However you look at it, they both had such good qualifications and yet you were picky. And you deliberately went to love that… what’s that girl’s name? Vic what?’

‘Victoria’ my dad said, helping my mom.

‘Yes… Victoria. You came home and cried your heart out like some girl. I really don’t understand you. Your eyes were really blinded, weren’t they? No matter how I see it, guy or girl, I still feel that Taecyeon is 10 times, no million times better than her alright.’

I rolled my eyes. I didn’t enjoy talking about this topic. This topic of both past and present.

I sat up and warned them, ‘I’m saying this again, for the last time. Ok Taecyeon was, is, and will forever be my friend!’ and with that I stormed off to my bedroom.

I laid on my beanbag in my bedroom and stared up at the ceiling where it wasn’t a tiled roof, but instead a glass panel that separated me from the dark blue-and-purple streaked evening sky.

‘Taecyeon will always be my friend. Like best friend. No matter how many guys I date, or how many girls I date. He’ll just be my best friend. That’s where he stands, that’s how our relationship will remain.’ I muttered to myself.

Thinking about the conversation again, I mentally cursed the taboo topic that my mom just had to bring up.

Victoria.

Taboo name. Taboo period of time.

I shook my head trying to disperse any thoughts I had about her before I could think deeper. As I watched the sky grow darker, painted blue on blue, one at a time, into deeper and deeper shades of night, I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Made a couple of changes in the first 3 chapters, Junho will replace the sous chef Jong's position, so yes Khun's assistant chef is Junho. And yeah, my fic's parents are described in a way to be supportive of the gay culture that's growing, cos I don't enjoy reading things like so and so parents are against gay marriage and whatnot. Freedom to love, freedom to choose who to love < that's what I believe in.

And so yes, thoughts? (: