The streets were of various shades – from pink to purple to yellow. The sweet fragrance lingering in the air, sending sweet pleasure to people who breathed it in. It was finally spring and the day of their admission day. Jaejoong stopped in his tracks to admire the scenery in front of him. The blossoming tree was grand and beautiful – a sight he looked forward to every year. For the starting of his school year in a new school, Jaejoong wished upon the tree for his days to be filled with joy and happiness. A sudden breeze blew onto his face, causing the petals of flowers to shower him with its blessings. Just then he saw a boy who was wearing the same uniform as him looking lost.

                “Excuse me but if you’re going to Chungju High School, it’s this way.” Jaejoong pointed towards the opposite direction the boy was facing. He ran up to Jaejoong and thanked him for the help. The boy flashed him a shy smile, feeling foolish for his sense of direction.

                “Thank you.” The boy said, his eyes traveled to the petal that flew to the top of Jaejoong’s head. He raised his hand to pick up the fallen petal and so did Jaejoong. Both of them had petals lying on their heads. They both laughed at the awkwardness of this situation. The boy handed him the petal, placing it on top of Jaejoong’s small hand. The petal was of a heart shape – a unique shape Jaejoong had ever seen. Jaejoong in return gave him the warmest smile he could conjure as a way of saying thank you.

                “Yunho, good morning!” A shout was heard from behind Jaejoong, it was his friend. Yunho nodded goodbye, leaving Jaejoong behind. That was the beginning of their beautiful relationship.

                Few months had passed and in school, Yunho was the all-rounder type of guy – he could play any kinds of sports he wished be it soccer or basketball or volleyball. He was famous in their year and everyone wanted to be friends with him. They would always refer him as Ace.  Yunho didn’t mind at all, he liked making new friends and hanging out with them. Jaejoong, on the other hand, was their prince because of his charming look. He joined the school’s radio club with a passion – he always dreamt of becoming a radio DJ when he grew older.

                The both of them were in different class, only to see each other once class ended. Yunho would always sweat it out on the fields – a few feet away from the school’s broadcasting room. The crowd out on the fields were always noisy and rowdy, playing their games but Jaejoong didn’t mind. Somehow he liked it when they yelled out, celebrating for Yunho’s winning score for his team. Sometimes he would even mouth out ‘congratulations’ to Yunho.

                When Jaejoong wasn’t busy with his club work, he would always sit by the window frame, working on his script at the table and watch as they play around. From time to time he could see Yunho turning his head to him and when their eyes met, Yunho would curt shyly – flashing his golden smile. Those little times when he and Yunho acknowledged each other were brief but he was satisfied, nevertheless.

☙

                Yunho playing on the field as usual but when he peeped through the opened window for the broadcast room, he expected to see that boy he met before. He never really had a chance to ask for his name though they would greet each other at times when they passed in the hallways or after class. Yunho strained his neck, making sure the boy wasn’t there. When he saw no one was in the room he let out a sigh of disappointment. The boy would always watch over their games and Yunho liked the attention he gave but it seemed like today he won’t be having any spectators. Feeling dejected, he ran towards the window of the broadcast room to shut it close. It would do the boy no good if something was stolen from the room.

                He was so surprised when he saw, just sitting there at the table with his head placed on his folded arms, the boy was dozing off. A soft snore could be heard coming from him. Yunho could feel he perked up with glee and chuckled at his own reaction. It was weird of him to be this happy for a student he never knew his name but he couldn’t help himself. Propping his head with one of his hands on the window frame, a happy smile bloomed on his face as he gazes down to the sleeping boy. His hair looked so fluffy he had to resist the urge to pat his head. His eyes trailed on the boy’s notebook and read his name off the hardcover journal. ‘Jaejoong’. The name danced out of his mouth and he liked the sound of it.

                When his friends called him, he scrambled away hastily in fear that Jaejoong would wake up. He turned his head around to check but turned out Jaejoong was still fast asleep. He must be a heavy sleeper, Yunho monolog to himself and continue on playing with his friends.

                The sudden shook of his body woke Jaejoong up. His fellow club mate ushered him to start the broadcast saying they were half an hour late. He quickly stood up, his papers and books fell on the floor as he clumsily tripped over his own feet. Yunho heard the ruckus and was just in time to see Jaejoong flying down. He tried hard to suppress his laughter, his stomach aches from the force of it. He’s a clumsy one too

☙

It was time for the school’s festival – a time where classes held competitions and events were organized in hopes that it would nurture future leaders. A time when the all-boys school was free to host any events the students wanted without the teachers’ interference. Each class was to send in a representative for the school’s festival committee and for Yunho’s class, Yunho was chosen. More like his classmates shoved the responsibilities onto him – knowing fully well Yunho wouldn’t be able to reject it. Yunho, being the boy with a golden hearted, wasn’t mad at them but accepted it with a full will.

He was shocked to see a familiar face – Jaejoong too had been chosen as a committee member. He tossed around, fiddling with his fingers as Jaejoong took a seat next to him only to be separated by the small gap for people to walk through. Jaejoong was surprised too and purposely sat next to him, hoping for a chance to talk with him. They both were faking their focus toward the student committee leader up front, stealing glances at each other.

                When the student committee leader asked for an opinion on what events to host, a certain voice preached for them to do a ‘King & Queen contest’. The suggestion was absurd and laughable but students all around them agreed to it. Weeks passed and all the classes and committees were busy preparing for the festival. Jaejoong and Yunho too were busy so they never had a chance to sit down and talked properly.

                Each class was to send in their candidate for the ‘King & Queen’ contest. Yunho’s class once again appointed him as their King and another student to be their Queen – though the other guy had a pretty face but the fact that he was taller than Yunho made them to be a weird couple. Jaejoong’s class, however, was taking ballots and whoever got chosen must willingly participate in the contest. Jaejoong wasn’t excluded from it but luckily he wasn’t the one. A certain student with a charming smile got chosen as the King and his best friend was to be the Queen. Jaejoong’s class erupted in laughter as the two made their usual hilarious fight skit.

                Their calming days went by unchanging – it was the usual eye meetings with Jaejoong and Yunho though the venue had changed and their silent acknowledgment with each other. Truly serene and unchanging days. And so the school festival started.

                Laughter and amused smiles filled the school as the students went around visiting other classes’ booths. The festive mood reign the school that day – the committee members were hustling and bustling to make this event a success and the non-committee students each gave their full support for their friends who had worked hard to prepare for this day. The morning schedule was filled with mini band concerts and performances. The booths stretched until evening along with the anticipated ‘King & Queen’ contest.

                The classes were creative – coming up with absurd ideas to attract the crowd’s vote. A few noticeable ones were a pair who wore costumes like real king and queens, another pair had their queens wore short skirts revealing his hairy legs and a pair even wore a wedding dress to match each other. It was a fun and hilarious sight to the students.

                Jaejoong was sitting in his classroom, watching the contest from afar. A white earphone stretched down from his ears to his phone – a sweet melody escaped through. A few more classes and then it will be his class turn. He couldn’t wait to see the comedy duo on stage. An anticipating smile spread on his face but suddenly he was taken by force from behind.

                Yunho and his classmate, Changmin, just finished their little runway and the reaction from the crowd was great. They riled up seeing Changmin in red lace see-through with a shoulder length wig. The boy was simply stunning but his large build made it awkward for him. Yunho, on the other hand, looked just right with his chaebol concept – his hair slicked to the side and a long oversized coat clung to his body. After this was Jaejoong’s class turn. Yunho moved his head, eyes wandering to search for Jaejoong in the crowd.

The crowd riled up once again as Yoochun stepped out with his Ancient Egyptian concept. His upper body was bare and a heavy looking ornament hung by his neck. Loincloth hung around his waist as if threatening to slip at any time. A headdress and fake beard helped him completed the Egyptian look. Yunho laughed at Yoochun’s antique – the guy was a famous prankster in his year but soon the laughter faded away as his eyes settled on the queen. He had his face covered – only his eyes were visible, heavy with eyeliners – the headdress placed on his head and the ornaments circling his waist showcasing his V-shaped built. He was enticing especially his gaze that left Yunho breathless.

                The students cast their votes into the boxes provided and moved on with the final event for the festival – the firework display. The sun had set hours ago, engulfing them in the darkness of the night. There were still so many things to do that made the committee members zigzag their way through the crowds.

                 While all the students filled the field to catch a glimpse of the display, two lonesome figure were stuck with work inside the committee room but neither of them minds it because the thing they wanted the most wasn’t firework view but each other.

This is enough for me, Jaejoong thought.

I want to know him more, Yunho monolog.

☙

                After the school festival, everything went back to normal – counting days for the summer vacation to start. Not satisfied by their short eye meetings, Yunho sometimes would intentionally pass by Jaejoong’s class as their classes were just next to each other. Jaejoong was seated at the far corner of his classroom – Yunho occasionally saw Jaejoong with his earphones, staring out the window or lying his head on the desk with his arms stretched forward. He wished Jaejoong would look his way, though. he couldn’t explain why but he wanted Jaejoong’s attention.

                When Jaejoong’s class had PE for their 4th period, Yunho sneaked in and rummaged through Jaejoong’s bag looking for his phone. He quickly dialed his number. It’s a good thing the boy didn’t password locked his phone if not his efforts would have been in vain. He couldn’t wait for class to end and to have their brief moments again.

                As soon as school ended, Yunho went out to the field taking his place somewhere the broadcast room was visible to him. He waited for Jaejoong to come through the doors – to