Grade Three, August 1994

Jaejoong was eating his lunch quietly, listening to the talkative boy infront of him. He had met Changmin a few months ago and they got along very well, even though Changmin was only in the first grade. 

Lucky for Jaejoong, he didn't get bullied or teased this time unlike the previous years. He didn't bother to know why. It was nice to finally have the burden of being a victim off his back. 

He'd slowly begun to strengthen himself more. Even though he got physically stronger, his mental/emotional state remained unchanged. 

"Hey, Jaejoong-hyung?"

"Hm?" Jaejoong replied, not really listening to whatever the boy was going to ask him.

"You know Dongwoo-hyung, right?"

"What kind of a question is that? Of course I know, he's-" 

"I want to tell something about him!" Changmin interrupted Jaejoong before he could finish his sentence and the latter, not liking the way the he was interrupted, raised an eyebrow. 

"What of him?" 

Dongwoo was in the same class as Jaejoong and had been with him since kindergarten. You could say they were best friends, at least, thats how Jasjoong thought it was. They were usually always together, playing or doing homeworks or something of the sort. Dongwoo  had been one of the few students who acknowledged Jaejoong and agreed to stay beside him, despite the minor age difference. Jaejoong had put his trust on Dongwoo, believing that they would be best friends no matter what. 

"Uh, well..." The younger boy seemed hesitant in saying whatever he was trying to say. 

"Well? If you're not gonna tell I won't know." 

"Um, Dongwoo-hyung...he...he told me..." 

Jaejoong sat up straight and leaned forward, all of his attention now on the boy infront of him. 

"He told you what exactly?"

Bowing his head, Changmin whispered. "I was talking to him about you...and all of a sudden he said that you're not his best friend."

Jaejoong didn't know what it was, but he suddenly felt a pang somewhere in his heart.

"....."

"He said that...he never thought of you as a best friend....he only hung out with you because..he wanted to be popular..." 

"...." Jaejoong didn't reply. Sure, the last part of the sentence doesn't make sense, (why the heck would anyone hang out with him just to be popular when he was not even popular at all??) he was more dumbstruck with the first sentence.

"He...Dongwoo-hyung made me promise not to tell you. But I couldn't not tell you...you're-" Changmin didn't get to finish his sentence however, because Jaejoong had already gotten up and was heading out the door.

"Jaejoong hyung..." The little boy could only watch with sad eyes as his 'best friend', as he called it, leave the classroom. Yes, Changmin thought of the elder as his best friend, even if the latter didn't. 

​~ ~ ~ 

Jaejoong was....he couldn't even explain how he felt. Hurt, angry, confused, sad, but most of all, betrayed. The one person whom he thought was his friend, the person whom he gave his full trust to, the person who he thought would never leave him, just broke his promise.

If he was hurt, then he didn't show it. If he was angry, then he didn't show it. He didn't show any signs of emotion on his face, but his heart was bleeding a river. 

He turned to his left and was met with a smiling Dongwoo and some other kids. They were talking about something, probably funny considering the way they were laughing, but Jaejoong could careless about that. 

Dongwoo's eyes meet his, and for a second, Jaejoong hoped that it's not true. That whatever Changmin said was not true. That maybe the younger one was just misunderstanding what Dongwoo said. That maybe there was nothing to worry about. 

However, when Dongwoo turns back to his new 'friends' without sparing Jaejoong as so much of a smile, and starts talking to them as if nothing happened, Jaejoong's hopes go down the drain.