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~ 16 ~

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"What was that, Jae?" Changmin asked curiously once they were safe inside the school building. "You've just split up with Yunho hyung and you're with Siwon already? Siwon is a player you know?"

Jaejoong bit his lip and stared down at his spiked Converse sneakers sullenly. It was bad enough that he was missing Yunho so much but was too scared to even look at him. But why was everyone reminding Jaejoong that he and Yunho weren't a couple anymore? He wondered if kicking Changmin would distract him enough to stop the awkward questioning, like it worked with Siwon, but quickly shook his head and banished the thought. Changmin was an action star and could probably kick his easily, and besides, Changmin was his dongsaeng.

"Changminnie..." He sighed and tried to explain patiently instead, gesturing to himself. "Jaejoong hyung's problems are adult problems, maybe when you grow up you will understaaa-"

"Don't give me that crap you stupid baby!" Changmin huffed and cut short Jaejoong's patronizing speech with a hard pinch of his cheek. "You can just say you don't wanna talk about it, and I won't push it!"

Jaejoong rubbed his sore cheek and pouted accusingly at the taller man. Changmin had just called him a stupid baby in a hallway swarming with students! What if his future classmates heard and started teasing him?

"Jaejoong hyung!" A familiar squeaky voice called out and Jaejoong turned, smiling happily at his approaching cousin. Finally, someone who treated him like a sunbae instead of babying him! In fact, probably the only one who did so.

"Junsu-yah!" Jaejoong grabbed Junsu in a manly hug, ignoring Changmin's amused snort. "Hyung is here to study with you! Don't be afraid to ask hyung for help!"

"Hyung have you seen Chunnie around?" Junsu questioned, nodding in greeting to Changmin and brushing off his pabo hyung's unneeded offer of assistance. "He hasn't been replying my texts or picking up my calls.."

Uh oh. Jaejoong fiddled with his bag straps uncomfortably. He had not told them about what happened with Yoochun yet, he didn't know how to.

"Um... Nooo.." Shifting his weight nervously at the awkward silence, Jaejoong gladly recalled he had an excuse to escape the situation. "I have to go see the Headmaster now! Bye!"

Hoisting his backpack on his shoulders, Jaejoong gave a jaunty wave to the suspicious Junsu and Changmin before scooting towards the administration office.

...


"We have a VIP student coming in this semester, he's a first year like you." Lee Soo Man, Headmaster of Seoul Arts School, was currently briefing his rebellious sulking nephew Lee Seungri in the Headmaster's office.

"He's come in highly recommended and sponsored by the school's biggest donor, and I need you to make sure he's comfortable." Headmaster Lee frowned at the distracted looking boy sitting opposite him and rapped his pen on his desk. "Boy! Are you listening? We need this VIP student to have a good time here, so that the school gets more donations!"

Seungri sighed and mumbled his agreement grumpily. He didn't have much of a choice, he wouldn't put it past his money-faced uncle to threaten him with expulsion should he reject the order.

On hearing a knock on the door and the secretary bringing the 'VIP' student into the room, Headmaster Lee's sour face immediately turned sickly sweet, and he got up to shake the newcomer's hands warmly. "Welcome to Seoul Arts School, Kim Jaejoong! It's an honor to have you here!"

Jaejoong? His name sounded familiar. Seungri spun around to see the same pretty boy Jung Yunho had threatened him over earlier that day. This boy somehow was his source of misfortune. He forced a smile on his face towards the politely bowing boy, while dark clouds of evil plots started forming in his mind. He would pretend outwardly to be the best friend this Kim Jaejoong could ever hope to get, but somehow, he would bide his time and wait for the perfect opportunity to rip off his angelic shy smile and make him fall.


...


Raising his arms cutely and giving his neck a light stretch, Jaejoong closed his eyes and smiled to himself, enjoying the gentle breeze on his face as he stepped out of the school gate. It had been a great first day of school, the music classes were interesting and actually made sense to him this time, and he made tons of friends. He even made a special friend called Lee Seungri who had insisted on carrying his bag for him, saying he wanted to train his arm muscles. Jaejoong bit his lip and stifled a giggle while pacing leisurely along the pavements. Maybe tomorrow he would bring a snack box for Seungri too, along with Junsu and Changmin's.

In fact, the only thing missing in his good day was being able to cuddle next to Yunho and telling him about his day. The smile on Jaejoong's face faded and he pouted forlornly to himself, dragging his feet on the pavement. After a good few minutes, he suddenly realized there was a suspicious looking black limousine with tinted windows driving slowly alongside him, keeping to the same slow pace as his walking. He stopped in his tracks and the limousine stopped as well. Strange, Jaejoong thought as he cupped his hands around his eyes and leaned forward, trying to squint through the dark window.

The passenger window suddenly slid open with a hiss and Jaejoong took a surprised step backwards.

"Hey cutie. Need a ride?"


...


Yunho swore as he hurriedly started the engine of his Ferrari, stepping hard on the accelerator in a bid to reach Jaejoong and the dubious looking limousine as fast as possible. He had wasted too much time hanging around in the background, debating with himself over whether he should show himself to Jaejoong and offer him a ride home.

He had been watching Jaejoong from his car since the boy had stepped out of the school gate. Changmin and Junsu were seniors and ended school later than Jaejoong, and after all Yunho's efforts of making sure Choi Siwon would be too busy to pick Jaejoong up from school, his hesitance was about to cause his Jaejoong to be kidnapped by whichever ert was in that limousine.

"Don't get into the car, Jaejoong!" Yunho growled as he neared the waiting limousine. A male hand clad in a suit and thick chains around the wrist stretched out from the limousine passenger window, and Yunho's eyes narrowed and his heart thumped worriedly seeing a thick bundle of bank notes waved enticingly at Jaejoong's innocently gaping face.

"No!" Yunho shouted, fingers gripping tightly on the steering wheel.

"I'll give you all the money you want, Jaejoong, just don't- No!" He cursed and slammed an angry fist on the dashboard, breathing heavily after seeing Jaejoong grab the stack of bank notes and clamber into the limousine.

How could Jaejoong allow himself to be bought by money, Yunho gritted his teeth furiously. When I catch up to him, I'm going to punish him so badly, Yunho resolved angrily as he dangerously overtook the nearby cars to tail the now moving limousine.


...



"Sir, there's a Ferrari following us. The driver has been flashing his high beam, I think he wants us to stop." The limousine driver reported while keeping a nervous eye between the roads and the rear view mirror.

"How dare he interrupt my precious time with my Joongie! Pull over, we'll teach him a lesson." The Chinese man ordered and signaled for his bodyguards to get out of the car.

"You stay in the car, Joongie baby." Hangeng fussed and ruffled Jaejoong's hair briefly before making his way out of the car.

"Wait Hangeng-ssi!" Jaejoong held him back after peeping over the back windows of the limousine at the familiar Ferarri with 9095 number plate. "It's my friend Yunho, in the car..."

"Yah Joongie..." Hangeng sat back down and glared at his son grumpily. "I'm your appa! Stop calling me -ssi!"

Jaejoong pouted crossly and glared back. "Chullie appa says I only have one appa which is Chullie appaa- Hangeng-ssi! Where did you get that?" He blinked distractedly at the the Hello Kitty plushie Hangeng had just removed from his leather bag on the car floor.

"This? It's a Spring edition limited release Hello Kitty, only found in Tokyo." Hangeng smirked, tossing and catching the plush toy in his hands and watching Jaejoong eye it fervently. "I bought it for my cute son, but it seems my son won't recognize me..."

"Hannie appa!" Jaejoong squealed in delight and jumped into Hangeng's waiting arms.

Their father-son reunion was suddenly interrupted by two loud thumps, and they turned to the windows to see Hangeng's two bodyguards' bodies slumped against the passenger car doors, sliding down slowly onto the road. A furious looking Yunho kicked them aside roughly and tried to open the limousine doors, but the alert driver had already locked the car from the inside.

Hangeng hugged his son on his lap protectively. "Joongie, Hannie appa is going to shoot your friend if he doesn't stop being crazy..."

"No appa! Yunho is a good guy!  It's because of Yunho that I can study music in school!" Jaejoong defended, panicking slightly.

"Ohh.." Hangeng pursed his lips in realization. That Yunho probably had the hots for his son and was going on a protective rampage. He smirked and called out to his driver. "Unlock the doors, I'll see what he wants!"

The limousine door flung open and Yunho glared at the sight of Jaejoong sitting snug on another man's lap and hugging the older man in the limousine backseat.

"Get out Jaejoong." Yunho snapped as he stared down the older man, daring him to protest. "I'll pay you ten times of whatever he paid you to get into his car."

Jaejoong raised his head and looked puzzled. "Yunho.."

Hangeng chuckled in amusement, patting his son's back comfortingly. "Joongie, show your friend the money I gave you just now."

"Okay appa.." Jaejoong reached into his pockets and brought out the stack of bank notes, handing it to Yunho.

Yunho felt an apprehensive vein twitch on his forehead at Jaejoong calling the older man 'appa,' realization slowly dawning upon him as he reached over to grab the bank notes from Jaejoong's outstretched hands.

He observed the notes sullenly.

"It's cute isn't it, Yunho?" Jaejoong asked hesitantly, venturing a conversation with the handsome darkly glaring man.

At first glance from a distance, the stack of notes looked like American dollars. But on closer inspection, where the note's logo was supposed to state "United States of America," the words "Hello Kitty" were boldly emblazoned. And where the United States president's picture was supposed to be in the middle of the note, a Hello Kitty wearing a crown stared back at Yunho silently.

Yunho let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, and handed the Hello Kitty bank notes wordlessly back to Jaejoong.

Hangeng laughed and reached out to pat Yunho on the back. "I like you, boy! Joongie and I are going to eat ice cream. Come join us!"

"Hannie appa..." Jaejoong interrupted, tugging Hangeng's sleeve. He didn't want Yunho to be forced into a situation he didn't like. "Yunho doesn't like ice cream..."

"I'll go." Yunho said curtly. "Ride with me, Jaejoong."

"Um..." Jaejoong glanced uncertainly at Hangeng, who chuckled and pushed Jaejoong out of the car into Yunho's arms. Any guy that would chase down his limo and single-handedly fight off mafia-trained bodyguards just to ensure his precious son's safety was fine in his books.

"Go with him." Hangeng said while getting out of the limousine as well to haul his two unconscious bodyguards into the backseat. "There's no space after I put these passed out weaklings into the limo anyway."

"Cold Stone Creamery at Itaewon, see you boys there!" He said with a wink at Yunho before slamming the limousine door shut.

...



"Yun.. Yunho..." Jaejoong stammered, finding himself still encircled in Yunho's arms since Hangeng had pushed him out of the car earlier.

"Jaejoong," came the gentle yet stern whisper from Yunho's lips near Jaejoong's forehead. "Don't get into any cars with strangers."

Swallowing nervously at their close proximity, Jaejoong nodded slowly. "Of.. Of course.. But Hannie appa is not a stranger..."

"Just making sure you know."

Jaejoong could have sworn he felt Yunho's nose nuzzling his forehead gently, but the moment was over too fast for him to be sure, and Yunho was now leading him by the waist to the passenger seat of his Ferrari. Yunho held open the door for him and Jaejoong slid into the seat, head bowing down to hide a tiny shy smile. It was the first time in the entire past week that Jaejoong felt genuinely happy.


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Joongie! Show the readers the money Hannie appa gave u~!! ^^

Btw the real jaejoong really has hello kitty notes.. given by a fanclub.. hehe <3

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