Fic: COLLIDE a.k.a One Hundred Ways to Say ‘I Love You’ series
A mix of AU and non-AU (HoMin and Min/Ho) drabbles - coz no matter how many lifetimes, in any universe.. their lives would always collide.
3/100 (feat. a scene from ‘Double Standard - Judith McNaught’)
4. “No, no, it’s my treat.”
Yunho watches in horror as his new colleagues ordered one after another most expensive dishes they could find on the menu and thinks to himself that he might actually need to live on ramen for the rest of the month. Heck, at this rate he might even have to beg the restaurant owner to let him wash the dishes to pay off tonight’s bill.
He can’t even say anything as apparently it was a tradition that the new guy have to treat the whole department with his first pay (seriously though, what kind of tradition that aims to bankrupt a guy within his first month of working???).
Infact, he was so busy calculating the possibility of him having to beg Heechul-hyung if he could pay the house rent in installment instead in one go; that he barely noticed the excited whispers around their table.
“Holy sh… it’s him, right?? The sajangnim’s son?”
“Kyaa~!! He’s so hot. OMG, he’s coming over here..! Quick, how’s my makeup?”
…. So letssee~ maybe he could buy ramen by the bulk from small grocery store underneath his apartment - Mr Lee is super nice and he said Yunho reminded him of his grandson after all.. Plus, ramen that near their expiry date are cheaper, right? - then he could pay Heechul-hyung and perhaps have a little bit of extra to..
“Annyeong Cinderella~ Still remember me?”
At the sound of the low husky voice near his ear, Yunho started and turned around..
Yunho emerged from the huge tall building looking up at the dreary dark August night despondently.
He’s pretty sure he won’t get the job he interviewed for - the interviewer is a pervert old man that not only tried to grope Yunho’s behind but even hinted that if he could make sure Yunho gets the job but only if the younger man could do him a ‘favor’ in return… And before he knows it, Yunho found himself pouring the hot coffee right down the old coot pants. Needless to say, the older man surged to his feet and coldly informed Yunho that he did not meet SINCO’s hiring standards for any position.
‘It’s okay Yunho.. You wouldn’t want to work in a company that hires people like that anyway..’
With a convulsive shiver, he pulled his navy blue blazer closer around himself.
Downtown traffic was backed up on Namdaemun, a sea of white headlights and red taillights speeding past his in both directions. While Yunho waited for the light to change, fat raindrops began to spatter on the pavement around his. When there was a break in traffic, Yunho raced across the broad multi-lane boulevard, reaching the opposite curb a split second before the oncoming cars roared past his.
Breathless and damp, he glanced up at the darkened high-rise building under construction in front of his. The parking garage which he had left his car was four blocks away, but if he cut across the area surrounding the high-rise, he could save himself at least a block. Disregarding the No Trespassing sign, he ducked under the ropes surrounding the construction area.
Walking as quickly as the uneven ground would permit, Yunho glanced up at the lights scattered high in the otherwise dark building. It was at least eighty stories high, made entirely of mirrored glass that reflected the twinkling lights of the city. With lights were on inside the building, the mirror surface became ordinary two-way glass, and Yunho could see boxes piled high in the offices, as if the tenants were getting ready to occupy the space.
Close to the building he found he was shielded from the wind blowing off the river, so he carefully stayed within its protection. As he hurried along it occurred to his that he was a solitary man, alone in the dark in what was purported to be a crime-ridden city. The thought sent fear racing up his spine.
Heavy footsteps suddenly thudded in the dirt behind his, and Yunho’s heart gave a leap of terror. He quickened his pace, and the unidentified footsteps moved more quickly too. Panicking, Yunho broke into a stumbling run. Just as he flew toward the main entrance, one of the huge glass doors swung open, and two men emerged from the shadowy building.
His foot struck a pile of conduit that coiled around his ankle, then tightened. Yunho soared through the air, his mouth open in a silent scream, his arms flailing for balance, and landed, face down in the dirt at the men’s feet.
one of the men grated in angry concern as they both squatted down on their haunches and peered anxiously at his.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Bracing himself on his forearms, Yunho lifted his chagrined gaze from the man’s shoes to his face.
“Auditioning for the circus,”
“And for an encore, I usually jump off a bridge.”
A rich chuckle sounded from the other man as he took his firmly by the shoulders and helped his to his feet.
he asked, and when Yunho had told him, he added worriedly,
Yunho assured him unsteadily. Every muscle in his body was protesting, and his left ankle was throbbing painfully.
“Then I guess you can make it as far as the building so we can have a look at the damage,”
he said with a smile in his voice. Sliding his arm around Yunho’s waist, he moved against his so that he could lean on him for support.
the other man said sharply,
“I think it would be better if I go in and call an ambulance while you stay here with Yunho-sshi.”
“Please don’t call an ambulance!”
“I’m more embarrassed than hurt,”
he added desperately, almost sagging with relief when the man called Changmin began guiding his toward the dark lobby.
He briefly considered the inadvisability of going into a deserted building with two unknown men, but when they entered the lobby, the other man switched on some small spotlights high in the ceiling, and most of Yunho’s doubts were dispelled: he was middle-aged, dignified and wearing a suit and tie.
Even in the dim light, he seemed more like a successful business executive than a thug. Yunho glanced at Changmin, whose arm was still around his. He was wearing jeans and a denim jacket. Judging from his shadowy profile, Yunho guessed him to be in his late twenties, and there was nothing about him, either, that struck Yunho as being ominous.
Over his shoulder, Changmin spoke to the other man.
“Jonghyun, there should be a first-aid kit in one of the maintenance rooms. Find it and bring it up.”
Jonghyun said, striding toward a glowing STAIRS sign.
Yunho glanced curiously around at the immense lobby. Everything was of white and dark grey marble: the walls, the floors, and even the graceful pillars that soared two stories to the ceiling high above. Dozens of huge potted trees and lush green plants were lined up against one wall, apparently waiting for someone to move them to their proper positions on the vast lobby floor.
When they came to a bank of elevators set into the far wall, Changmin reached around his and pressed the elevator button. The gleaming brass doors slid open and Yunho stepped into the brightly lit elevator.
“I’m taking you up to a furnished office where you can sit down and rest until you feel steady enough to walk unaided,”
Yunho flicked a smiling, grateful glance at him— and froze with shock. Standing beside his, his features clearly illuminated now by the improved light, was one of the most handsome men he had ever seen. Simultaneously, the elevator doors closed and Yunho jerked his gaze from his face.
he said in an odd, croaking whisper, self-consciously pulling free of the other man’s supporting arm,
He pressed the button for the eightieth floor, and Yunho quelled the impulse to reach up and pat his hair into place—it would be too obvious, too vain. He wondered if his face was dirty, then he caught himself up short. He was reacting very foolishly to what was, after all, nothing more than an attractive male face.
Had this man really been that handsome, he wondered. He decided to look at him again, but discreetly this time. Very casually, he raised his eyes to the light above the doors, which flashed the number of the passing floors. Cautiously, he let his gaze slide sideways… Changmin was watching the flashing numbers, his head tipped slightly back, his face in profile.
Besides being even more handsome than he had thought, he was at least six feet three inches tall, broad shouldered and athletically muscular. His thick dark hair was coffee brown, beautifully cut and styled. Masculine strength was carved into every feature of his proud profile, from the straight dark brows to the arrogant jut of his chin and jaw. His mouth was firm, but sensually molded. His ears… Yunho paused at this, squinting a bit.. hmm..
‘what adorable stick-out ears’
Somehow that makes the other man more approachable.
Yunho was still studying the soft line of his full lips when they quirked suddenly, as if in amusement. His gaze shot up, and to his utter horror he discovered that those Bambi eyes had shifted to his.
Caught in the act of staring at him and practically drooling over him, Yunho said the first thing that came to mind.
“I—I’m afraid of elevators,”
“I try to concentrate on something else to, er, keep my mind off the height.”
Changmin remarked, but his teasing tone made it obvious he was applauding not Yunho’s sensible solution to his alleged fear of elevators, but rather his ingenuity in inventing such a plausible lie.
Yunho was torn between laughing at Changmin’s dry observation and blushing because he hadn’t fooled him in the least. He did neither, and instead carefully kept his eyes on the elevator doors until they opened on the eightieth floor.
“Wait here while I turn on the lights,”
A few seconds later panels of ceiling lights flickered on, illuminating the entire floor, the left half of which appeared to be an immense reception area and four very large walnut-paneled offices. Changmin put his hand beneath his elbow, and Yunho’s feet sank into the emerald green carpeting as he guided his around the elevator wall to the opposite side.
This half of the floor contained another even larger reception area, with a circular receptionist’s desk in the center. Yunho glimpsed a beautiful office opening off the right of the reception area. It was already equipped with built-in filing cabinets and a gleaming wood-and-chrome secretarial desk. Mentally he compared it to his own steel desk at his old part-time job.
That one had been in the middle of a cluttered three-person office. It was hard to believe that so much spacious luxury was for the benefit of a mere assistant.
When he voiced that thought aloud, Changmin gave his a derisive look.
“Skilled professional assistant take great pride in being just that, and the salaries they’re getting are soaring every year.”
“I happened to be a personal assistant before,”
Yunho told him as they walked across the reception area toward a pair of eight-foot-high rosewood doors.
“I was across the street applying for a job at SINCO just before I, ah, met you.”
Changmin threw open both doors, then stood back for Yunho to precede him while he studied the man’s limping walk.
Yunho was so acutely aware of his penetrating gaze on his legs that his knees wobbled, and he was halfway across the room before he actually looked at his surroundings. What he saw stopped his short.
“What is this room, anyway?”
Changmin said with a smile at his awestruck expression,
“is the president’s office. It’s one of the few offices that are completely finished.”
Speechless, Yunho let his admiring gaze wander over the gigantic office. The long wall in front of his was glass from floor to ceiling, providing an uninterrupted view of nighttime Seoul in all its fantastic, glittering splendor as it fanned out for endless miles in the distance below. The three remaining walls were paneled in satiny rosewood.
Acres of thick cream carpeting covered the floor, and a splendid rosewood desk was off to his far right, facing the room. Six chrome chairs upholstered in moss green were strategically placed before the desk, while on the opposite side of the office, three long, deeply tufted moss green sofas formed a wide U around an immense glass-topped coffee table, its base an enormous piece of highly polished driftwood.
“It’s absolutely breathtaking,”
“I’ll fix something for us to drink while Jonghyun is getting the first-aid kit,”
Yunho turned, watching bemusedly as he walked over to a blank rosewood wall and pressed it with his fingertips. A huge panel glided silently aside, revealing a gorgeous mirrored bar lit by tiny concealed spotlights above it. Glass helves held rows of Waterford crystal glasses and decanters.
When Yunho didn’t reply to his offer of a drink, he glanced over his shoulder at the other man and saw the expression he was trying to hide. Changmin smiles- amused by Yunho’s thunderstruck reaction to this opulence.
“If you’d like to clean up, there’s a bathroom right there.”
Changmin inclined his head toward the wall beside the bar.
Yunho asked blankly, following the direction of his nod.
“Walk straight ahead, and when you get to the wall, just press it.”
His lips were twitching again, and Yunho gave him an exasperated look while he did as he’d said. When his fingertips touched the smooth rosewood, a panel clicked open to reveal a spacious bathroom, and he stepped inside.
“Here’s the first-aid kit,”
the man called Jonghyun announced as he entered the suite just then. Yunho started to close the bathroom door but paused when he heard him add in a lowered voice,
“Changmin, as the corporation’s attorney, I’m advising you that the boy ought to be seen by a physician tonight to prove that he isn’t seriously injured. If you don’t insist on it, some lawyer could claim he’s been crippled by his fall and could sue the company for millions.”
“Stop making such a big issue out of it,”
“He’s just a nice wide-eyed kid who got the hell scared out of him in a nasty fall. An ambulance ride would terrify him.”
“I’m late for a meeting in Gangnam, and I’ve got to leave. But for God’s sake, don’t offer his anything alcoholic to drink. His parents could sue you for trying to seduce a minor, and—”
Feeling both puzzled and insulted at being called a wide-eyed frightened kid, Yunho quietly closed the door. Frowning, he turned to the mirror above the sink and then stifled a shriek of horrified laughter.
His face was covered with wide streaks of dirt and grime; his neat tie was half undone, dangling crookedly and looked like it could cheerfully strangles him with just a tug; wisps of hair were sticking out like scraggly spikes all over his head; and his suit jacket was hanging drunkenly off his left shoulder (and is that a huge tear at his left elbow??!).
He looked, he thought with a hysterical giggle, exactly like a caricature of himself—like a funny, hopelessly dirty urchin in disheveled clothing.
And for some reason, it suddenly became imperative that he look vastly different when he walked out of this bathroom. Hastily he began stripping off his soiled navy jacket, gleefully anticipating the shock that was in store for Changmin when he was cleaned up and presentable.
If his pulse quickened with excitement while he scrubbed his face and hands and brush his hair - grimacing at bits and pieces of twigs and rocks that fell off, he told himself it was only because he was looking forward to having the last laugh on him, and not because he longed for the man to think he was attractive. But he had to hurry; if he spent too much time in here his transformation wouldn’t be nearly so effective.
Changmin was standing at the mirrored bar, his back to Yunho. Without turning he said,
“I had to make a phone call, but I’ll have these drinks ready in a moment. Did you find everything you needed in there?”
Quietly he stood beside the long sofa, watching Changmin swift, economical movements as he took two crystal glasses down from the shelf and pulled a tray of ice cubes from the compact refrigerator-freezer recessed into the bar. He had removed his denim jacket and tossed it over one of the chairs. With each movement of his arms, the thin fabric of his blue knit shirt tautened, emphasizing his broad, muscular shoulders and tapered back.
Yunho let his gaze drift down the clean line of his narrow hips and long legs, outlined by the comfortably snug jeans he wore. When he spoke, Yunho started guiltily, his gaze flying to the back of his dark head.
“I’m afraid this bar isn’t stocked with soft drinks or lemonade, Yunho, so I’ve fixed you a glass of tonic with ice.”
Yunho suppressed a chuckle at the mention of lemonade and demurely clasped his hands behind his back. Suspense and anticipation built inside his as Changmin replaced the stopper in a crystal whiskey decanter, picked up a glass in each hand and turned.
Looked up and promptly nearly stumbled forward on the thick carpet.
Yunho cocked his head innocently to one side,
Changmin opened his mouth couple of times before closing them again.
Without a word he turned on his heel, strode over to the bar and dumped the contents of one of the glasses into the stainless steel bar sink.
Changmin’s voice was filled with amused irony.
“Adding some gin to your tonic.”
Yunho burst out laughing, and Changmin glanced over his shoulder at the bright sound, a wry smile twisting his lips.
“Just out of curiosity, how old are you?”
“And you were applying for an assistant position at SINCO—before you threw yourself at our feet tonight?”
Changmin prompted, adding a modest amount of gin to his tonic.
Changmin carried his glass to Yunho and nodded toward the sofa.
“Sit down—you shouldn’t be standing on that ankle.”
“It doesn’t hurt, honestly,”
Yunho protested, but he obediently sat down.
“I’d still like to have a look at your ankle,”
Putting his drink on the glass coffee table, he crouched down and began untying the shoelaces of Yunho’s left shoe and rolls down the sock gently. The mere brush of his fingers against Yunho’s ankle sent amazing jolts of electricity shooting up his leg, and Yunho stiffened with the unexpected shock.
Fortunately, Changmin seemed not to notice as his strong fingers carefully explored the other’s calf, moving slowly down toward his ankle.
“Are you a good assistant?”
“My former employer thought I was.”
With his head still bent, he said,
“Good assistant are always in demand. SINCO’s personnel office will probably call you eventually and offer you a job.”
Yunho said with an irrepressible smile.
“I’m afraid Mr. Lee, the personnel manager, doesn’t think I’m very.. accommodating nor bright,”
Changmin’s head jerked up, his gaze moving with frank, masculine appreciation over his vivid features.
“Yunho, I think you’re as bright as a shiny new penny. Lee must be blind.”
“Or else he’d never wear a dirt-brown jacket with a paisley tie.”
Now, as he smiled Yunho saw more than just an extremely handsome male. He saw a mild cynicism in Changmin’s eyes that was tempered with warmth and humor; the hardbitten experience that was stamped on his almost too-pretty face.
To Yunho it made the man even more attractive. There was no denying the power of his sexual magnetism, either. It emanated from every rugged, self-assured inch of his body, pulling Yunho to him.
“It doesn’t feel swollen,”
Changmin commented, bending his head toward Yunho’s ankle again.
“Very little. Not nearly as much as my dignity.”
"In that case, by tomorrow your ankle and your dignity will probably be fine.”
Still crouching, he rolled up the sock again and cupped Yunho’s heel in his left hand.
Just as he was about to slip the shoe onto Yunho’s foot, Changmin glanced up at his and his lazy smile sent Yunho’s pulse racing as he asked,
"Isn’t there some fairy tale about a man who searches for someone whose foot fits into a glass slipper?”
Yunho nods, his eyes bright.
“What happens to me if this shoe fits then?”
Changmin asked teasingly.
“Why sir~ I turn you into a handsome frog, of course”
Changmin let out a startled laughed - a rich, wonderful sound as their gazes held.
To Yunho’s surprise, the very next day he received a call from SINCO offering him a job and while he had some trepidation on working with the pervert interviewer, he realized he can’t afford to reject it (Thank God that he was assigned to the Administration Department and Mr Lee wasn’t his superior). Few days after that he found out that the man that helped him the other night is the only son of the Group’s President and SINCO is just one of the many subsidiaries of Shim Corporation. And the building that Changmin brought him in that night is the company’s new HQ.
He would like to say thank you to the younger man but… considering their complete difference in social status and level, Yunho thought that he would never gets a chance to do so - though he saw Changmin at the SINCO building few times after that night, the young man always have his entourage of personal assistants with him, all at the beck and call of their young boss and Yunho can’t imagined what they would’ve thought to see this new employee so casually calling out to the great Shim Changmin.
Even now, he becomes painfully aware of the murmurs around them at seeing Changmin sitting next to and talking to him (and even calling him Cinderella!)
“I mean..um.. Annyeonghaseyo Changmin-sshi..
Yunho feels like face planting himself on the tabletop right after the offer slipped past his lips. What on earth was he doing~??!
Changmin chuckles - amused at Yunho’s apparent awkwardness, obviously caused by the fact that his co-workers are observing the interactions between the new worker and their boss closely. Feeling cheeky, he decided to mess with them a bit.
He turned slightly to the long table to address all them - shamelessly trying to eavesdrops.
“I would love to join you guys.. but I’m afraid I am here to meet someone actually. But I hope you’ll have fun. It’s good to see such good relationship between employees..
And.. please look after my Cinderella here~ Don’t bully him too much even though he’s new to the company, ok?”
He turned back to Yunho with a smile - seemingly oblivious to the raised whispers around them wondering if their new colleague is actually Changmin’s childhood friend and wondering why Changmin is calling him, Cinderella. - trying hard not to laugh at the other’s slack-jawed expression.
“Enjoy the dinner with your friends.. I’ll talk to you later, Cinderella~”
“Wha..? Wai.. hey, why the he..”
“Omomomomomo, Yunho-sshi! You didn’t tell me you know the president’s son!”
“He’s so hot! Does he have a girlfriend?”
“Seriously though, how on earth are you guys friends? It’s like Prince and the Pauper..”
“I told you that we weren… hey, who are you calling pauper~!”
Somehow the dinner had turned into interrogation session - with his colleagues all asking about Shim Changmin (from what kind of cologne he uses to is the rumor about him doing his PhD in just 3 years is true)
And most frustrating thing was that no one believed him when he said he just met the guy once and that’s it.
He looks around the empty messy table - he had insisted everyone left first as he didn’t want the embarrassment of him having to wash the dishes to pay for all this to be known, and gestured to one of the waitress for the bill.
When she returned, he was almost scared to open the black leather folder containing what got to be the most expensive bill he will ever see.
But what meet his eyes is just a small piece of paper.
Sorry for tonight. I was just teasing my favorite princess :)
Don’t worry ‘bout the bill, I already paid for it.
Yunho shakes his head - smiling as he pocketed the note. Despite himself, he can’t help but think how adorable the great Shim Changmin really is.
‘Guess I owe you another one,huh~’
