After Dusk || Im Changkyun

27. Positive Affirmation Spatula

Chapter Twenty Seven

You sighed, throwing your head back onto the couch of the waiting room. Every second of that interview was agonizing but thankfully no one asked you why you were so pale or if you looked weak so you'd presumed that you'd done a good job at keeping up a strong act.
That degree in acting did pay off.
Well, you were an actress.
You checked your phone, looking at the time.
9:43AM.
Changkyun would get back to his apartment in just barely a half an hour and you had those thirty minutes to get back home and pretend like you never left.
And you totally weren't ignoring the approximately 47 missed calls from June since she definitely was wondering where the heck you were because Changkyun probably called her on her one free day and watch over you like a babysitter.
Another day, another weird stunt with Choi Y/N.
"Are you ready to go? Or should we stop for breakfast? You haven't eaten yet."
"No." You exclaimed, to which Saera crossed her arms at you,
"I'll eat at home. Can we go home now? I just want to go home." You pleaded, giving her your best puppy dog eyes. You should know by now that none of that works on Saera. She was rock solid and physically impossible to crack open. You genuinely wondered what she was like with Doyoung.
It's two stubborn, bossy people but they're together.
It must be weird.
Your eyes landed on the keys that were in Saera's hand, so you snatched them, walking as fast as you could go get to the parking lot which was so close yet it felt so far. You pressed a finger onto your temple, holding your coat close since you didn't have enough time or patience to zip it up.
You didn't do it as well as Changkyun did. You wondered where he'd learned that from.
You just needed to get back. Hopefully June didn't rat out on you, though she probably did. You hadn't received a call or any sort of form of communication from Changkyun yet, so it was safe to say that nothing had happened.
Yet.
You walked past a very familiar male silhouette, feeling the man look back at you. Gray suit, emerald tie, black hair. You, however, could not care less if there was a man looking at you. Every suited man somehow looked the exact same to you.
You jumped into the car, holding tightly onto the fabric of your skirt to avoid from screaming out in pain. You could barely bend. How fun. You gritted your teeth, letting your hair fall into your face to hide it. Saera was sly enough to be able to slip the keys out of your hand and start the car. She pulled out in record speed.
"Hey, Y/N, are you feeling okay?" Saera asked out of the blue,
"Your eyes look tired and behind all the bronzer you told the makeup artist to apply, I saw that you looked like a vampire."
Well darn it. She'd noticed. You should've expected it though, it's Saera. You can barely get anything past her.
"Yeah, I'm okay. I guess I'm not a morning person." You lied, hoping that she'd believe you.
A little white lie never hurt anyone.
Saera simply shrugged, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear so she could focus on the road.
"No, you're a morning person. But I suppose people have their days. Are you sure you're okay though?"
"Just fine, Saera. I just need a bit more sleep?"
"Maybe a hospital."
"Definitely not a hospital." You snapped, leaning your head back on the seat and huffing.
"Rest up. I'll wake you up in twenty minutes."

•—•

10:21
You'd been stuck in the traffic for longer than expected.
And you were only a few stairs away from the seventh floor. Walking seven flights of stairs multiple times a day really had taken a toll on your body but at least you were building leg muscle. And endurance. And a lot of other things honestly. Including early arthritis. It just wasn't convenient when your legs were about to give out on you.
But eventually, you made it.
You walked into the apartment, looking around the naturally lit room, peeking around to see if there was anyone there.
"Changkyun?"
No response.
You actually pulled this stunt off.
You hung your coat on the coat rack beside the door, throwing yourself onto the couch, covering yourself in a random throw blanket and turning on the TV, ironically a Minhyuk drama being aired.
Were you ever going to tell Changkyun that you were Minhyuk biased back in the day? Not unless he tortured you.
You watched peacefully as your friend got completely pummeled by a gang and then followed by him making out with some chick. It was interesting to watch at least. Minus the mouth to mouth action. Like wow they were really going at i-
"I'm home."
You excitedly turned your head at the door to see Changkyun taking off his shoes, loosening his green tie and putting his bag down, launching himself onto the couch next to you. He was right on time. It was exactly 10:30. He was so unbelievably punctual it was kind of terrifying.
"Morning, Eggo." He greeted, taking a good look at your face.
"Good morning, Changkyun. How was work?" You asked, helping him undo his tie. He seriously could not untie one of these to save his life.
Yet he tried to choke himself to death with one. You still didn't know if that story was true but you weren't sure if you wanted to know.
"It was boring. Brand deal this, breakfast with my uncle and some serious talk about stuff that. Nothing unusual." He whined, laying his head back on the couch.
"How was sneaking out of the house and going to that interview after I blatantly told you not to leave the house?"
"It was boring too. The questions were a- wait." Your eyes widened as soon as his words registered. You stared at Changkyun's stone faced expression, still wondering how the heck he figured out.
You did not pull this stunt off.
"How did you know?" You exclaimed, watching him lift his head back up, raising an eyebrow at you. He ripped the blanket off of you, revealing your navy blue and white suit jacket and skirt.
You probably should've changed.
He poked your face, wiping a finger against your cheek and then shoving it in your face to show you the bronzer on it.
You probably should've taken off your makeup too.
"You literally walked past me in the parking garage. I thought you'd be able to recognize your own boyfriend."
That familiar looking silhouette wasn't any man. It was Changkyun.
You were so smart sometimes it really surprised you.
"The one time you should've listened to me, you didn't." Changkyun shook his head, very obviously disappointed in you,
"What if you passed out? What if you just completely collapsed while walking?"
"I didn't."
"But you could've. Then what would you have done?"
You frowned, knowing that he was being rational and was completely right but you were too salty to admit defeat.
"Technically, I wouldn't be able to do anything. I'd be unconscious." You muttered, looking down at your lap.
"Exactly. Do you want to be unconscious?"
"Well, kin-"
"Choi Y/N." He seethed quietly, spacing out each syllable. He was completely unimpressed with your dark joke and you didn't know why. He himself had a very dark sense of humor.
"I respected your wishes and I didn't drag your stupid self to a hospital despite the fact that you probably need one. So can you just listen to me for once in your life, Eggo?"
You laughed out loud, making him furrow his eyebrows at you. He crossed his arms, not understanding what you found so funny. You, on the other hand, were completely cracking up at him.
"As each day passes you sound more and more like my mother. You seriously need to stop talking to her."
"I like your mother. She sends me cute baby pictures." Your eyes widened, watching as he pulled out his phone from his gray suit pocket, unlocking it and scrolling through if for a few seconds before he started beaming at his phone. You got impatient, lunging at Changkyun, landing on top of him so you could grab his phone. He chuckled, stopping your flailing hands and pushing you back onto the couch next to him rather than on him.
"You can just ask, gosh." He leaned over, turning the phone towards you. It was a picture of you and your parents. You probably weren't even a year old but you were in a little pink tulle dress, a small little pink tulip headband wrapped around your head and you were staring into the camera with your little doe eyes. Your mother held you close in her arms while your father grinned gently at the camera, his arm placed around your mother's shoulder and his other hand, pointing a finger out for your tiny hand to hold.
You'd never seen this picture before.
You smiled softly at the old quality, the "October 21, 1998" right next to it. That was until you saw the next your mother sent underneath it.
"I want this picture recreated but it's you, my daughter, and my grandbaby."
Seriously, your mother needed to chill.
"I'm sorry about my mom. I don't know what's gotten into her."
Changkyun simply shrugged,
"She wants grandchildren."
"And you're not completely uncomfortable with the fact that she keeps mentioning it?"
He shrugged again.
"Why deny the inevitable?"
You slapped Changkyun's arm, watching in horror as he cackled.
"What the hell is wrong with you? What happened to last night saying that Ollie couldn't be my son because I was too young?" You exclaimed, going to hit him again but you were stopped as you heard the loudest shriek come from outside the apartment.
"Junebug, no!"
The door busted open and a fuming June came into view. Her caramel blonde hair was standing up on her head, clutching a yellow rubber spatula that ironically said, "here comes the sun." In your case, it was more "here comes my doom" but anyways. She charged towards you, swatting the spatula everywhere as she slapped the living daylights out of you, screaming inaudible sentences. Her long yellow dress was adorned with lace accents and a few white roses patterned all around the bodice. You sweared to god, even while she was trying to end you, she still looked pretty.
You made out a few words she was screaming such as "die" and "idiot" and "my wrath" but you were too busy getting abused. Changkyun covered you with his back, and you watched him wince in pain as he got repeatedly hit by June's rubber weapon.
"I swear to god, Choi Y/N! I'm going to kill you with my own bare hands and this positive affirmation spatula!" She screeched, literally ripping Changkyun off of you, his body crashing to the ground right next to his glass coffee table. His arms knocking off every single thing that was on it.
You did not know she had these capabilities. She was like 5'3.
Shownu came running in, throwing a bag that was in his hand onto the kitchen island and running to June and wrapping his large arms around her small torso.
"Kim June! You always said violence isn't the answer." He struggled to hold the tiny woman in his arms since she was kicking her feet and waving her arms all over the place.
"That's right!" She shouted back,
"It's the solution. Now let me go, Son Hyunwoo!" Shownu scooped up June in his arms, brushing a hand through her hair gently and whispering sweet nothings into her ear despite the fact that she was still hissing at you. You were scared out of your mind.
You missed cute, innocent, gentle June.
Raging murderer June was terrifying.
Shownu carried her out of the apartment, yelling one last "Sorry!" before leaving Changkyun's house. Taeyong walked in, confusedly eyeing the two of them as he walked in, Ollie on his leash that was tied to his hand. He caught sight of Changkyun on the floor and you holding your hands up in front of your face in hopes that something wouldn't get thrown at you.
"Was there a World War happening in here?" Taeyong looked around at the pure destruction that had gone on in front of the innocent coffee table. Ollie yipped, jumping onto the couch and licking your face before settling himself onto your lap.
"You didn't pick up your dog. Like at all. I thought I'd stop by and bring him back but I walked in to a war zone instead."
You grabbed Changkyun's arm, pulling him back up onto the couch and Taeyong sat down beside you. You whispered to him, asking if he was okay since it looked like June was completely annihilating him and he just nodded, assuring you that he was just fine.
He didn't look very fine.
June caused a lot of damage.
"Now that you both are here, can I talk to you about something?" They both snapped their heads towards you, making you flinch in fear at how scary the both of them looked since you were in the middle of the two of them. Taeyong assuringly put his hand on your shoulder for a second, bringing it back to his lap. You gently pet Ollie, his tiny tail wagging, hitting your thigh and almost feeling a bit therapeutic.
"This is probably a bit long overdue, but do you remember that one time after you sprained your ankle you got like blackout drunk. Right about here." You reminisced while pointing to the spot right beside where Changkyun's foot was.
"Of course. I accidentally pinned you to the ground and almost kissed you."
"What now?" Taeyong said rather loudly, giving you both a weird look. You guilty smiled at Taeyong.
You didn't think Changkyun remembered that.
"What about it, Eggo?"
You took a deep breath, hitting your heart to jump start it, which made the two guys you were sandwiched in between get nervous.
"So, when I was walking back home-"
"Another instance when you disobeyed me."
"Can you let me finish?"
"Sorry."
You sighed at him. He was so salty sometimes.
"While I was trying to get home, I took a wrong turn and somehow ended up at my old company." You confessed. You looked up at the both of them. Taeyong seemed to be processing the information you were giving him while Changkyun was balling his fists.
"Did you see him?" Changkyun murmured softly through his gritted teeth.
"Yes."
Taeyong was the next to ask you something.
"Did he do anything to you?"
"He followed me. Practically chased me down. I had to hide in a store and call Yuta and Sicheng to pick me up. Thankfully, they were right around the corner to where I was."
Well. It was nice to get that off your chest. That instance has been haunting you for a while.
"That happened almost seven months ago. What made you tell us now?" Changkyun asked, obviously trying to keep his cool but you knew he wouldn't raise his voice. Changkyun doesn't raise his voice for some reason. You've never seen him really shout at someone for any situation. When he wanted to get a point across, he just spoke in a low voice and glared at the person he was speaking to.
It has 101% out of 100% success rate.
"Yesterday, I met an old stylist of mine. It was accidental but she also said that she'd ran into him right around where I was coming from. It could be coincidental and it could just be my nerves but it's really been freaking me out because it's like he's everywhere I turn. There's been other small instances where I feel like he's there. I must be just going insane."
Taeyong shook his head at you, pulling out his phone for no apparent reason.
"It's not. You have a good instinct, Y/N. If you're scared, we can help."
"I don't want to make a big deal out of this though, Taeyong. I just want to calm my anxiety. Both of those instances were probably just coincidences and the other times were just me being paranoid."
Changkyun scoffed.
"Yes, Eggo. Him chasing you down was a coincidence." You felt his hand slowly inch closer to yours and you smiled fondly as you caught sight of his black nail polish with the one red heart.
Ever since that one night, he'd insisted you start painting his nails the exact same way, but switching up the heart color every now and then.
Though the purple seemed to be his favorite.
"Can you tell Yuta for me? I feel like he should probably know too." You asked Taeyong but he began to rub his hand on the back of his neck.
"See, about Yuta..." Taeyong started, his voice trailing off as well as his eye contact with you.
Now you were getting scared.
"Maybe, I'll tell him in a bit, okay? I'm scared he might actually commit a crime."
You burst out laughing, relieved at that was all Taeyong meant. You thought there was an actual problem with Yuta. He was just being funny. However, Taeyong looked very serious and he didn't break out into laughter like you'd expected him too. Neither did Changkyun. Your relieved laughter died down and turned into a concerned chortle as you questioned,
"You're not serious, are you?"
"He has three different ways to kidnap and murder Kyung on a board beside his desk and all of them work perfectly. I don't know how he came up with them but if he executed any of the three, he'd literally never get caught. Apparently, according to Taeil, sometimes he wakes up at like 4 AM and he'll just see Yuta staring at the board with no other reaction. He's just staring."
Okay, now you were actually concerned for the mental well being of your best friend.
"Yeah, maybe hold off on telling him. What even are the plans?"
"Oh, my favorite is the one where we bring him to the company offering him a new job and then while we take him to an interview we kidnap him and dissolve his body in a tank of sodium hydroxide that I may or may not have access to."
Both you and Taeyong stared Changkyun down, and he just smirked.
"What? I helped with that one. Isn't it nice to have a physics major boyfriend?"
You tsked, shaking your head at him, relaying the disappointed expression he had for you not too long ago.
"You guys are scaring me."
"Hey, I did not contribute." Taeyong held his hands up in a surrender, eyeing Changkyun,
"Violence was going to be my last resort."
"What are you guys even doing? Why don't you tell me anything? This is my life, you know." You crossed your arms, huffing as you narrowed your eyes at the two guys. Both of their expressions softened at yours, and you ignored the two of them, petting Ollie.
You heard the front door beep and turned to see June, much calmer and not wielding her "positive affirmation spatula" this time around. Her eyes widened in a delighted surprise as soon as they landed on Taeyong. Taeyong's face mirrored the same expression as he stood up and they both laughed brightly as they fist bumped.
"Ayo, little bro." June grinned, playfully slapping the back of his head. Ollie jumped off your lap, running to paw at June's leg and June just giggled.
"Yes. Hello, December." Taeyong joked, chuckling softly.
Both Changkyun and you turned to each other, glimpsing at the two who seemed like they were catching up on life and reminiscing about past memories.
"Are they siblings?" You whispered to Changkyun, remembering the name that June had called him. Changkyun shook his head and nodded it at the same time. That totally answered your question.
"I know June has a younger brother but I didn't think it was Taeyong."
"And I know that Taeyong has an older sister but I didn't think it was June. I thought she was married."
"June is almost engaged."
Right.
Shownu was proposing this week.
June tapped you both on the shoulder, pushing you away from each other who were barely apart.
"Can you stop whispering about us? Also, six inches apart."
You awkwardly smiled at the two of them, distancing yourself from Changkyun and just tilting your head at the pair that was standing in front of you.
"We're not siblings. Taeyong is a friend. He attended my cooking class a few years ago and he was my best student." June explained, throwing an arm over the far taller Taeyong, messing up his brown hair like an annoying older sister.
"Right, I'm not here for Taeyong." June gently slapped her face, her bangs getting in her face so she blew them away cutely,
"I'm here to tell you that when I heard your stupid self starved for a week I made everything you like to eat and I expect that you both finish it all by today. I'll stop by tomorrow before work to bring you more." She smiled while pointing to the bag that Shownu had thrown onto the kitchen island not too long ago.
"You did what now?" Taeyong raised an eyebrow at you and you just laughed at him, getting up and beginning to push him out the door.
"Haha, Taeyong, isn't it time you get back? Do your leader stuff? Yeah, I think it is."
Taeyong tried to push you away, but was obviously trying his best not to hurt you. You miraculously had a moment of superhuman strength, shoving him out the door and waving with a sly smile before shutting it on him.
You were such a nice friend.
"Well, that wasn't very nice of you." Changkyun implied, staring at June as she fell onto the couch, dramatically placing a hand on her forehead. You scoffed at her, watching her have a whole dramatic meltdown on the dark leather couch that completely contrasted with her outfit.
You were wondering who in this room really was the one who has acting as an occupation.
"In all seriousness, Y/N, can I talk to you?"
You nodded, getting kind of worried at how quickly her smiled faded. You sat down beside her, Changkyun curiously staring at the two of you. You side eyed him, wanting for him to retreat into his room and stay there for about ten or so minutes.
"What? I want to hear what girl talk is like." He defended innocently, holding his face in his hands as he admired you, nudging June encouragingly, hoping she would start speaking.
"Okay, whatever. Changkyun can stay." June rolled her eyes at him, flicking his forehead like an annoying older sister.
Wow, June was just everyone's annoyingly peppy older sister.
"Shownu's been acting... weird." June started, making both you and Changkyun snap towards her in interest.
"It's like he's scared of being around me? I don't know, it's like he's keeping so many secrets. He's always on the phone with someone and he keeps trying to avoid me. I don't know. Maybe, I'm just being paranoid but we've never been like this before."
You comfortingly rubbed June's back as she hid her face in her hands. You smirked at Changkyun, mouthing a sentence to him so that June wouldn't hear.
"When is he proposing?"
Changkyun mirrored your grin, satisfaction glinting in his eyes,
"Three days."
You lifted June's head, fixing her bangs for her while you gave her an understanding grin,
"How about we go out, huh? Let's go shopping. I'll buy you any pretty floral dress you want."
"You're not well, Y/N. You can't-"
"Yes, I can. Get up." You pulled her up, throwing your arm around her shoulder as you waddled towards the door. You grabbed your coat, noticing that June didn't have one on her. You handed her yours and stole Changkyun's grinning as you felt the keys that were in the left pocket as you put it on.
"Kyun."
"Yes?"
You grinned at him, who was still sitting on the couch, except Ollie was at his feet, nibbling at his suit pants yet he didn't seem to mind. You gently directed June out the doorway and joined her on the outside, not forgetting to grab your pink purse before leaving.
"I'm taking your car."
You caught a glimpse of his distressed face before shutting the door behind you, hearing his agonized whine,
"That car is worth more than your life!"

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