"Dazzled by your charms"

❋

I'm already well aware that Yifan hates flying. Our flight from Gimpo to Jeju, Yifan was restless and couldn't even take a nap. I had to keep him calm and distract him with funny videos or stories, as if he were a child. The same is happening now. Upon take-off, he's agitated. His eyes wander and hands gripping onto the arm rest like we're about to crash--which I pray doesn't happen. He's always so put-together but seeing him act like this on the plane shows he has a weak but extremely cute side to him. Not everyone sees this.

"Do you want me to get you some water? I'll ask the flight attendant to give you some," I suggest to him.

"No... it'll make me want to pee later. I don't want to get into those awful suction toilets."

I try my best to contain myself. I grit my teeth to keep me from exploding in laughter as I watch Yifan struggle with his own fear. I know I shouldn't laugh but when will I ever get to see this side of him again? We hear the intercom bing and the Senior Flight Attendant speaks over it.

"Dear passengers, we will be experiencing some slight turbulence before we reach cruising altitude. Please keep your seatbelts fastened and we will attend to you once the seatbelt sign is switched off. Thank you."

Even though nothing has happened yet, Yifan is already checking and double checking his seatbelt is fastened. At first this was funny but now I show concern over him. I place my right hand on his left hand to calm him. I rub my palm against the back of his hand to soothe his nerves. He looks at me and I smile.

"Don't be nervous. I'm here, okay?" I tell him.

It doesn't immediately calm him but I see his gaze soften as he keeps his eyes on me. I know he's doing his best. He mentioned that the first time he flew a plane, the turbulance was horrible due to the heavy winds and he tried his best to never travel by plane ever again. Not including our Jeju business trip, his last plane ride was when he first came to Korea from China. I remind myself of this and think that he is brave enough to try taking a plane again.

I link my fingers with his and mouth the words 'You're okay' over and over until he closes his eyes. He leans his head against my seat and give him space. The plane continues to fly through light winds but after a few minutes we're cruising smoothly and the seatbelt sign turns off. I lightly tap Yifan's shoulder.

"Hey, you can relax now. There's no more turbulance. You did well."

I try to remove my hand so I can get up and go to the restroom but he grips tighter and pulls me back down.

"Don't go..."

I get nervous because I see the Flight Attendants passing us by. If they see us holding hands, they'll think badly of us.

"I'm not going anywhere" I say while I remove his hand.

Although I remove his hand, I allow his head to fall on my shoulder. We have about thirty minutes until we arrive Seoul so I sacrifice my bathroom time to keep Yifan relaxed. I fall sleepy just watching him. 

❋

The Yifan during our flight is not the same Yifan now. From being agitated, he's gone arrogant. He pretends as if he was acting during the flight and it was his plan to act that way in order for me to worry about him. Well, isn't that just a jerk move, huh? He wears his expensive sunglasses and puts them all while I push our baggage cart from the claim area out to the arrival hall. I turn off my phone from airplane mode and a flock of emails and text messages appear one by one. I ignore them all and go through my contacts list so I can call the company driver to pick us up. As I am walking out with Yifan, I hear a woman scream and I get surprised that I drop my phone.

"Oh sh--" 

I pick it up and check if it's alive. AND IT IS! Thank God. I observe my surroundings to find out who was the woman that screamed so loud that I nearly killed my precious cellphone. At the distance, I see my boss hugging a woman who's wearing a long dress, heels and sunglasses. I'm not surprised to know Im Jinah is here at the airport. I sigh and push the cart to their direction. I lock eyes with Jinah and she doesn't seem pleased to see me. Did I do something?

"You're not still mad at him, are you?" Yifan asks his wife.

"Of course, I am! He's the reason you ran from me before."

"Stop blaming him for that..."

"Hmph!"

She turns her head away from my direction and locks arms with Yifan. 

"I already called the driver. He's waiting for you outside. We're going to go out with my friends!"

"What? Honey, I just came back from a business trip... I don't think--"

"I missed you so much! Can't we at least spend time together? Please?"

Yifan tries to read my face if I would react to the situation before me but I keep a poker face on. I can't lie. I am affected by their relationship but I can't show it. I'm only his... lover. I've been so blissfully happy that I forget I am competing with Yifan's legal companion. He has told me he is gay but... even so, why doesn't he divorce her? He's keeping up an image I presume. I avoid looking at Yifan and I hear him agree to his wife's demand.

"Suho-sshi, bring his bag to the car," she tells me.

The two lovebirds walk in front of me and Jinah is glued to him lacking any space for him to breathe. I can't show it. I can't show how annoyed I am. I push the cart and follow them out. I watch the two like a hawk. Every flip of the hair and batting of the eyes, she's doing her best to appeal to her husband. But his reactions aren't what she expected them to be. He's smiling but not looking at her... not like how he looks at me. 

Kim Junmyeon, stop this. Stop comparing yourself to her. You're his lover now. He wants to be with YOU. These thoughts are gathering in my head that I didn't notice the driver had already loaded the bag in the trunk leaving mine in the cart. Jinah enters the car after the door was opened for her and Yifan is about to enter when he pauses and looks at my direction.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" he asks.

I say nothing and nod my head. I watch the car door close and drive away until it disappears from my sight. I check my phone which I just notice has a small crack at the corner and see a message from Choi Minho. Before I can even read it, his name pops up on my screen.

"Oh? He's calling me?"

I have no reason to reject his call so I answer.

"Hello?" 

"Junmyeon-sshi?"

"Yes."

"Hi! This is Choi Minho. I didn't receive your reply about my text message."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just arrived at Gimpo now and was about to read your message. What was it about?"

"That's alright. I was wondering if you're free tomorrow to maybe grab a cup of coffee with me."

Tomorrow? It's Sunday and there's no work. My boss will probably be busy with his wife so I'll take the offer.

"Sure I can have coffee with you tomorrow."

"That's great! I'll text you where we'll meet. Have you eaten?"

"No, I haven't eaten yet. I was just about to grab a taxi to go back home and eat there."

"Don't call a taxi. I can come pick you up."

"Eh?! No! That's too much trouble!"

"It's no trouble at all! I live only a few minutes away from Gimpo. I'll be there in a bit. Just wait for me."

Before I can protest further, he hangs up the phone. I'm unable to book a taxi because it would be embarrassing for him to show up and I'm not here. I guess I'm forced to wait for him... a man I just met by chance at the hotel. He's so thankful that I just returned his ID case. Is it really that important to him? Hmm... of course losing your company ID and credit cards would be terrible. This guy has so much jeong¹ that he wants to pick me up from the airport and even buy me coffee. I owe him a lot.

❋

"I'm sorry for troubling you like this..."

"It's no trouble at all!"

Even if you say it like that, I believe I'm still a burden to you here, Choi Minho-sshi. I'm riding in a black 2015 Kia Optima and his car is fixed with leather seats and still has a new car smell. If he's able to afford a recent model, it must mean he's earning a lot at his current workplace.

"I saw your company ID. You're a Brand Manager, right?" I ask.

"That's right. It's great you remember."

"Haha I don't think it's that great. So what do you do as Brand Manager?"

"Since our company is widely known, I have to focus on keeping the brand up to par with the highest of standards for the marketing of our artists and items. I overlook the design of our product line and timeline of album releases. It has to match the season and style."

"Ohh, I see. Sounds like a lot of hard work."

"It does. And how about you?"

"I work for Lotus."

"Really? We were planning on sending a proposal to Lotus soon."

"Wow! I didn't hear about that yet. I guess you haven't finished the proposal. Most proposals go through me."

"Don't worry. You'll see it soon."

We exchange glances and smiles. It was awkward at first but I think I've grown a little comfortable with our short ice breaker. I see that we're close to my apartment and I tell him to just drop me off at the side. He double parks and I thank him for the ride.

"It was nice seeing you again, Minho-sshi."

"It was nice seeing you, too."

I pull the handle to open the door but before I push the door, I look at him again and ask if he'd like to eat with me. 

"Are you sure? You must be tired though."

"No no it's fine. I owe you one anyways for picking me up."

His eyes sparkle like he's been given a treat. He tells me he'll find parking around the area and will meet me back here. I agree and get out of the car and wait for him. It's odd that I end my day with someone I just met but if it's for the formation of a new friendship, I don't find it odd at all.

❋

To be continued...

.n.e.x.t.

Author's Notes

[1] Jeong 정 = It doesn't have an exact meaning. It's more of a feeling. It can mean like you have an 'open heart' and 'care for others'. It's a word that describes the essence of Korean culture. It's a type of 'love' but not the romantic sense.

Hehehehe... please don't get mad that I only updated this fanfic now. HEHEHEHHEEHE. I have nothing to say except I'm sorry and you all deserve an update after such a long time. YIFAN GOT COMPETITION. WATCH OUT OR MINHO WILL SNATCH YOUR JUNMYEON AWAY. Ohohohohoho.

Thank you to all the subscribers! Upvoters! And I'm happy with the comments! Whenever I read comments, I get encouraged to write. So if you keep commenting, I will push myself to write for you :) I want to finish this fic. I need the motivation and inspiration. So I thank you all!!!!!

Until the next chapter /o/