“You’re finally up!”

Yunho turned to face where the voice was coming from… 

“Yun...jae…” Yunho mumbled under his breath… the sight of him made him tear again… 

Of all the things that he did… the best thing he did was to name him Yunjae… Yunho smiled slightly. 

What do I do now… what do I do with you…? You’re really my Jaejoong…It is only right that I bring you back to my side again… but… 

“Don’t cry anymore!” Yunjae said, quickly wiping Yunho’s tears away... “Your eyes are really swollen now… you cried the whole night… even when you were sleeping… ”

Yunho took a deep breath and nodded.

“You... really scared me last night.” 

“Sorry...” Yunho didn’t know what else to say to him. 

“You’ve been saying that the whole night... even when you’re asleep... who is... J--- never mind!” Yunjae said, not looking at Yunho but his ears turned red... 

Yunho turned to look at him, he knew that he wanted to ask about Jaejoong but couldn't bring himself to. 

Yunho laughed at that bitterly... 

That’s you, silly... And you’re still the same… your ears always turn red when you’re nervous... just like when we just met... 

*************

“Hi...Hi there! I’m Jung Yunho, can I get your name?”

“Kim, Jaejoong” 

“Nice to meet you! I was just sitting at the other table and saw that you’re alone. Can I… join you?”

“No.”

“Wha--- A… alright…” Yunho lowered his head awkwardly and went away...

“YAH YOU!” 

Jaejoong turned around and saw a drunken Yunho outside the bar. He frowned and walked away.

“Don’t go~” Yunho whined and chased after him. 

“What do you want?” Jaejoong asked cautiously. 

“You~” Yunho grinned as he staggered towards Jaejoong. 

“You--”

“Ahh!” Yunho tripped over his own foot and fell forward, right into Jaejoong’s arms, both falling onto the ground. 

“G… get up!” Jaejoong tried to push him away, flustered. 

“Heh… heh… your ears are… red~!” Yunho grinned widely again, as he propped himself up, his body still on Jaejoong.

“M… move!” Jaejoong finally pushed him away and stood up, dusting his pants and walked away. 

“What a cold person~” Yunho sighed, lying on the ground, still smiling… 

*************

“Let’s… go back to Korea.”

“Let’s? You mean you and I?”

Yunho nodded and smiled as he watched Yunjae’s eyes lit up. 

Yunjae nodded continuously, “Y...yes. We can leave after you feel better.”

 

“I already feel better,” Yunho said, still staring at his face. 

 Everything is alright now… After seeing your face, your smile… 

Yunjae blushed, as though he could hear his thoughts…

“I… will go pack then! Since you have already packed yours…” 

Yunho could still see a tinge of sadness in his eyes. 

I have disappointed him once… and him being Joong, can never forget that easily… 

*************

“Nervous?”

“A little… It’s my first time back in Korea, I don’t know what to expect~” 

“Hmm… Sorry to say this but I think it’s best not to have a high expectation in case…” 

Yunjae nodded slowly. “I understand~” 

How do I tell him… that he’s an orphan? There’s too many things to tell him.. But how? And where do I start? 

“The sky is so pretty~” Yunjae commented as he glanced out of the window… “Thank you for bringing me home~” 

Yunho stared at his back as Jaejoong continued peering out of the window. 

Thank you for coming back to me… 

*************

“Is it really okay for me to stay at your house? I seem to be troubling you very often...”

“It’s alright! I’m the only one living there anyway~”

I couldn’t protect you last time… but now, I will, no matter what. 

“Your house is really clean~” Yunjae commented, not knowing what else to say.

“Ah… that’s because Yuri always---”

!

“Yuri?”

, he caught it.

Yunho nodded, thinking how he should explain it. 

“Well, Yuri is my ex-girlfriend but we broke up… she’s a really nice girl.” Yunho decided to be truthful about it. He should at least respect and acknowledge Yuri’s effort and love all these years. 

“Girl---friend…” Jaejoong muttered under his breath, with a look of disappointment and confusion in his eyes. 

Should… Should I clarify and tell him that I actually like guys?! But is that too sudden?! 

“I… I’m tired! We should wash up and sleep?”

“R...right. Yeah! Your room is here, follow me!” Yunho heaved a sigh of relief as he led Yunjae towards the guest room. “I will help you change the sheets while you wash up!” 

Yunjae nodded and started to unpack. 

(Silence…)

How did things become so awkward?! Yunho thought to himself as he started to change the sheets, stealing glances of Yunjae from time to time. 

“I’ll go shower then…” Yunjae stood up suddenly and walked out. 

“Oh… oh” Yunho replied as he watched him walk out of the room, still moody. 

What do i do….?! Yunho sighed again as he lay down on his bed… This is a bad start… 

*************

“Hmm?” Yunho opened his eyes slowly when he heard the door open.

!!!! 

Yunjae stood rooted at the door, half- as he stared at Yunho, still lying on his bed… 

“I… didn’t know that you’re still here…” 

“I… fell asleep… s… sorry!” Yunho stood up quickly and walked towards the door. 

That’s when he noticed the scars on his body…and on his forehead… he didn’t notice them before when his fringe was down… 

“Joong Joong wake up please! You’re scaring me!” He was shaking all over, his mind was blank… he didn’t know what to do… 

Yunho cried as the paramedics carried Jaejoong into the ambulance… he was covered in blood… they won’t stop flowing… the smell of his blood filled the whole ambulance… he doesn't even know where he is hurt exactly… his shirt was soaked in blood that they had to rip it apart to treat his wounds… Yunho watched everything happen in front of him, but everything was a blur…  

“Please don’t die on me! I’ll wait for you!!!” Were his last words he said to Jaejoong as he was wheeled into the surgery room. 

He sat outside the room, looking at the trail of blood that followed into the surgery room… he cried… bawled… outside the room before the nurses finally convinced him to get himself treated too… 

Tears started to well up in his eyes again as he reached out to touch those scars… 

“I don’t remember how I got them…”

I do… I remember… every second of it… 

“Don’t… cry because of me.” Jaejoong reached out to wipe his tears before they rolled down his cheeks… 

“I… will never let you get hurt again. I promise” Yunho clenched his fists and walked out. 

He still couldn’t forgive himself for causing the accident… if that accident didn’t happen… all these wouldn’t happen too… 

Yunjae let his hand stay in the air a while longer before putting them down… 

What… was I expecting?

*************

“I made breakfast~!” 

Yunho walked out of his room, shocked. It has been him who has been making meals for Jaejoong in the past, but now… 

“Come on, take a seat!” Yunjae signalled at the empty chair. “Sorry I used the ingredients without permission~”

“Don’t say that! It’s already a surprise that you made breakfast!” Yunho smiled and sat down, taking in a huge mouth of soup.

GAK… 

Now… I remember why I’m always the one preparing meals… some things… don’t change… 

“Is it bad?” Yunjae looked at him closely, trying to study his expression. 

“Well… It is a bit too salty… but if we add a little water or eat it with other ingredients it’ll be fine!”

Yunjae frowned as he studied the table of food, feeling bad… “Should I throw them away?”

“N… no! No no no… I can eat them, don’t worry! So what should we do today?” Yunho quickly changed the topic. 

“I was thinking of going to the Police station? To check on the missing persons cases… who knows my name might be there…” 

Damn… this issue… We can’t have that… 

“I… I can help with that! I can just hire someone to look into it, rather than going to the Police,” Yunho said hurriedly. 

“But… isn’t it faster to just approach the Police?”

“You don’t trust me?” Yunho decided to take a gamble. 

“That’s not it!!! I don’t mean that… I’m just afraid that you will need to spend more time and money on me, that’s all…”

“That’s no issue at all~” Yunho smiled and continued eating. 

Whew~ one issue down… I can just find someone to break the news to him slowly… if he heads to the station, he might learn about the accident too… and… I’m not ready for that… and neither is he… 

ARGH!

“YUNHO!” Yunjae dashed towards him. Yunho dropped his spoon as pain shot up into his head like a ball of fire… So much that it made him dizzy and numb at the same time… 

“Where is your medicine?!” 

Yunho managed to point him in the direction of the cabinet as he continued to battle the pain.

“Hang on!” He ran to grab the bottle and came back with a glass of water. “Quick, swallow it.” 

Yunho’s hand shook violently as he tried to reach for the glass. 

“Let me.” Yunjae swiftly popped the medicine into his mouth followed by the glass of water. 

Yunho took multiple deep, short breaths as he tried to calm himself down… 

When the pain finally subsided, he felt as though he was drained of all energy… he finally slumped into Yunjae’s arms. 

“Feeling better? Can you stand?” Yunjae asked, very concerned over his condition. 

 “Let me… stay in your arms for a while…” 

Yunjae nodded, not saying anything else… 

Yunho leaned against him heavily, eyes closed… as both of them feel each others’ breath on their own necks in silence …