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fic advent: day one
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chiharu ♥
one-sided jongdae/translator jiejie, exo-m gen
pg, 1k words
"A member of EXO-M (or maybe all the members?) has a crush on Translator Jiejie."
ty tofrailspells for beta
chiharu ♥one-sided jongdae/translator jiejie, exo-m gen
pg, 1k words
"A member of EXO-M (or maybe all the members?) has a crush on Translator Jiejie."
ty to
frailspells for beta“Excuse me?” Jongdae tries again. It's been such a long day and he just wants something to eat before they have to get on the plane. Unfortunately for him, his Mandarin is failing him right now. The man behind the counter looks irritated, rattling off another sentence, and Jongdae rubs futilely at his sore eyes. “Please, can you speak slowly?” There's a lineup building up behind him and Jongdae is about two seconds from just walking away. What's one more skipped meal, anyway?
Gentle fingers tap against his elbow, and he blinks down at Xiao Jing. Jongdae is pretty sure he's never been so relieved to see their translator in his entire life. Her serious presence is reassuring, making some of his tension seep away. “What did you want to get?” she asks in Korean, and it only takes her a few minutes to relay his order. He does his best not to flush with embarrassment, and in response to her sweet smile. He's not doing so well.
“Next time,” Jongdae says, fidgeting, as the man hands back his change. “Next time, I will order the hell out of my dinner.” He offers her a hesitant grin, and she just laughs. His ears are getting hot and he should feel even more embarrassed, but there's nothing malicious about it.
This isn't the first time she's rescued him from floundering in the language barrier. Every time, he does his best to apologize, but she always waves him off. Maybe it's her job, but she's always seemed to keep an eye on him, seems to know just when to intervene before he humiliates himself. He's grateful for that particular skill.
“I'll hold you to it,” she says warmly, sweeping her hair out of her eyes, and it takes him a second to notice that the impatient man behind the counter is waving at him. He ducks his head apologetically and grabs his container, balancing his drink on top. Maybe he's even more tired than he'd thought.
Xiao Jing walks him back to the table, and Jongdae does his level best not to flush when her arm brushes up against hers. She stays close, steadying his drink with a quick hand. “Try not to fall asleep in your food, alright?” she teases. She pats his shoulder as he drops his food on the table and then heads to the other end to sit with the rest of their staff.
Lu Han eyes him as he sits down. “Did you have a nice little date?” he asks sweetly.
Eyes determinedly fixed on his food, Jongdae wrinkles his nose. “Not a date,” he says.
Lu Han slings an arm around him and Jongdae squirms his shoulders, trying to shrug him off. “But you're so red,” Lu Han says gleefully. “I think you've got a crush.” He's beaming obnoxiously and across the table, Yixing and Zitao laugh. It's getting harder to focus on actually getting some of his hard won meal in his belly instead of how badly he wants to sink down in his seat and hide.
Minseok isn't quite following the conversation, he's only half listening and as tired as Jongdae is. He can still figure out the general gist of things from Jongdae's red ears and the way he can't quite quit glancing over at the far end of the table. It's not his fault, Jongdae thinks. “Don't worry,” he says, patting Jongdae's knee. Jongdae wrestles Lu Han's arm off and prods him in the side, making Lu Han recoil and pull a face. “It's cute.”
This is not reassuring. “It is not a crush,” Jongdae insists, and this time even Yifan snorts, covering his grin with one of his freakishly large hand. “I'm going to kill you all. I'm going to go solo.” He looks around at all of them before pointing a finger at Yixing. “Yixing ge can live. He can be my back up.” Yixing pauses, confusion settling over his face. He looks as if he can't decide to be flattered or offended.
“I'm the better singer,” Lu Han protests.
Zitao scoffs. “I'd like to see you try something,” he says, a challenge in his eyes. He holds his hands up menacingly. Jongdae narrows his eyes and raises his fists in return, and the two of them grin at each other.
“Children, please,” Yifan says. He gestures at all of them with his chopsticks and Zitao lets his hands fall to his lap. “No fighting.” Jongdae is about to favour him with a thankful smile when he continues. “Leave Jongdae and his little crush alone.”
“Oh, come on,” Jongdae groans, tipping his head back as the rest of them erupt in laughter again. Yixing throws Jongdae a sympathetic look as Lu Han pokes him repeatedly in the ribs, doggedly ignoring all of his attempts to swat his hands away. “I can't believe I live with you people.” He allows himself a second to glance down the table, and he can't swallow back the grin that flashes across his face when Xiao Jing favours him with a quick smile.
“Not a crush?” Yixing asks mischievously and Lu Han cackles. Jongdae couldn't go any redder if he tried, but Lu Han finally relents.
He lets Jongdae steal a bite off his plate, although not happily, and in return, Jongdae doesn't punch him in the knee when he puts his arm around him again. “It's okay, buddy,” Lu Han tells him. “We're here for you during this trying time.”
Jongdae shouts with laughter before he can contain himself. “You're the problem!” he declares. There's no edge to his words, as much as he'd like there to be.
Lu Han settles in to needle Jongdae under his breath while they finish up their meals and Jongdae's eyes keep finding their way to the other end of the table. As tired as he is, he can't help but feel a warmth spread in his stomach from Xiao Jing's smile and the weight of Lu Han's arm and the laughter at the table. It's been a long day, he thinks, but a pretty good one, too.
Gentle fingers tap against his elbow, and he blinks down at Xiao Jing. Jongdae is pretty sure he's never been so relieved to see their translator in his entire life. Her serious presence is reassuring, making some of his tension seep away. “What did you want to get?” she asks in Korean, and it only takes her a few minutes to relay his order. He does his best not to flush with embarrassment, and in response to her sweet smile. He's not doing so well.
“Next time,” Jongdae says, fidgeting, as the man hands back his change. “Next time, I will order the hell out of my dinner.” He offers her a hesitant grin, and she just laughs. His ears are getting hot and he should feel even more embarrassed, but there's nothing malicious about it.
This isn't the first time she's rescued him from floundering in the language barrier. Every time, he does his best to apologize, but she always waves him off. Maybe it's her job, but she's always seemed to keep an eye on him, seems to know just when to intervene before he humiliates himself. He's grateful for that particular skill.
“I'll hold you to it,” she says warmly, sweeping her hair out of her eyes, and it takes him a second to notice that the impatient man behind the counter is waving at him. He ducks his head apologetically and grabs his container, balancing his drink on top. Maybe he's even more tired than he'd thought.
Xiao Jing walks him back to the table, and Jongdae does his level best not to flush when her arm brushes up against hers. She stays close, steadying his drink with a quick hand. “Try not to fall asleep in your food, alright?” she teases. She pats his shoulder as he drops his food on the table and then heads to the other end to sit with the rest of their staff.
Lu Han eyes him as he sits down. “Did you have a nice little date?” he asks sweetly.
Eyes determinedly fixed on his food, Jongdae wrinkles his nose. “Not a date,” he says.
Lu Han slings an arm around him and Jongdae squirms his shoulders, trying to shrug him off. “But you're so red,” Lu Han says gleefully. “I think you've got a crush.” He's beaming obnoxiously and across the table, Yixing and Zitao laugh. It's getting harder to focus on actually getting some of his hard won meal in his belly instead of how badly he wants to sink down in his seat and hide.
Minseok isn't quite following the conversation, he's only half listening and as tired as Jongdae is. He can still figure out the general gist of things from Jongdae's red ears and the way he can't quite quit glancing over at the far end of the table. It's not his fault, Jongdae thinks. “Don't worry,” he says, patting Jongdae's knee. Jongdae wrestles Lu Han's arm off and prods him in the side, making Lu Han recoil and pull a face. “It's cute.”
This is not reassuring. “It is not a crush,” Jongdae insists, and this time even Yifan snorts, covering his grin with one of his freakishly large hand. “I'm going to kill you all. I'm going to go solo.” He looks around at all of them before pointing a finger at Yixing. “Yixing ge can live. He can be my back up.” Yixing pauses, confusion settling over his face. He looks as if he can't decide to be flattered or offended.
“I'm the better singer,” Lu Han protests.
Zitao scoffs. “I'd like to see you try something,” he says, a challenge in his eyes. He holds his hands up menacingly. Jongdae narrows his eyes and raises his fists in return, and the two of them grin at each other.
“Children, please,” Yifan says. He gestures at all of them with his chopsticks and Zitao lets his hands fall to his lap. “No fighting.” Jongdae is about to favour him with a thankful smile when he continues. “Leave Jongdae and his little crush alone.”
“Oh, come on,” Jongdae groans, tipping his head back as the rest of them erupt in laughter again. Yixing throws Jongdae a sympathetic look as Lu Han pokes him repeatedly in the ribs, doggedly ignoring all of his attempts to swat his hands away. “I can't believe I live with you people.” He allows himself a second to glance down the table, and he can't swallow back the grin that flashes across his face when Xiao Jing favours him with a quick smile.
“Not a crush?” Yixing asks mischievously and Lu Han cackles. Jongdae couldn't go any redder if he tried, but Lu Han finally relents.
He lets Jongdae steal a bite off his plate, although not happily, and in return, Jongdae doesn't punch him in the knee when he puts his arm around him again. “It's okay, buddy,” Lu Han tells him. “We're here for you during this trying time.”
Jongdae shouts with laughter before he can contain himself. “You're the problem!” he declares. There's no edge to his words, as much as he'd like there to be.
Lu Han settles in to needle Jongdae under his breath while they finish up their meals and Jongdae's eyes keep finding their way to the other end of the table. As tired as he is, he can't help but feel a warmth spread in his stomach from Xiao Jing's smile and the weight of Lu Han's arm and the laughter at the table. It's been a long day, he thinks, but a pretty good one, too.