Farewell

“I got it. Thanks.” Jaejoong hung up the phone.

Hands trembling, he let the receiver hang for its dear life and paced around the room. Before long, he was trembling so badly that he had to hold on to the wall for support.

Is this the right choice? Should I be doing this?He asked himself repeatedly, unable to organize his thoughts. Though his mind was in a very complicated state, he knew that he had one thing to do – to see her.

He put on a jacket and grabbed his car keys before running out of the house. He started the engine of his car, pulled out his cell phone from his pocket and dialed in the numbers which he took no time to recall.

“Where are you?” Jaejoong asked.

“In school. Why?” She answered.

“Nothing. Still cooped up with your design?”

“Yeah.  It’s almost done, Jae.”

Jaejoong could almost feel the excitement in her voice, and see her smiling to herself, which was the exact opposite of what he was feeling now.

“Cool. I love you.”

“I love you too.” She chirped happily.

Jaejoong stepped on the accelerator and zoomed past trees, buildings and other cars. His heart raced madly, and he was even more certain that he had to get to her before he broke down – and fast.

Within minutes, he pulled his brakes outside the Seoul Art Academy and got out of the car. He put on his hood and trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, he slowly made his way past the guardhouse, where the guard was sleeping away, and walked into the classroom block.

He could see heads turn when he scanned through classrooms to look for her but ignored the awed faces. He heard girls screaming but the pulse of his heart was louder than all of that. He finally stopped in his tracks when he reached the last classroom.

***

After completing the final on my latest design, I yawned and rested my head on the table.

“Hey, you’re done already?! Come and help me!” My deskmate, Minhee pleaded.

“Do it yourself, I’m exhausted.” I retorted, clearly out of energy.

Ignoring my words, Minhee walked to my table and took a look at my design. “OH MY GOD, this is the prettiest dress I’ve ever seen! YOU’VE GOT TO HELP ME!” She shook my shoulders vigorously, trying to pull me up.

“GO AWAY! I’M BUSHED!” I shouted and closed my eyes.

Still persistent, Minhee continued shaking my shoulders and said, “Help me, dear. Do you know how gorgeous yours is? Please help me!”

Suddenly, screams filled the air and Minhee shut up. It must be a bug in the classroom next door. I thought and went back to my slumber.

“Gorgeous…” I heard her mumble and I smiled to myself. “I know my dress is really pretty, but you don’t have to keep harping on it, do you?”

“No… I meant, he’s gorgeous.”

“Come on Minhee, you know there’s no gorgeous guy in our school, unfortunately. And I’m really going to sleep this time.” I said sleepily, adjusting my sleeping position.

“OHMYGOD, HE’S WALKING TOWARDS ME! HELP!” Minhee whisper-shouted.

I ignored her plea. Then I felt a tap on my head.

“Don’t you get it? I’m trying to sleep!” I shouted, annoyed by Minhee.

The tapping continued, this time more urgently.

“GO AWAY!” I barked and looked up. It was Jaejoong! “Jaejoong ah? What are yo–” Before I could finish my sentence, Jaejoong pulled me up into a hug and carried me out of the classroom, running past heaps of people who came out of their classrooms because of the sudden appearance of an idol. Heads turned and everyone screamed. At that moment, I knew I was going to get killed by all his fans when I returned to school.

As I rushed past the classroom block, I tried to register what had just happened in the past few seconds. “Jae, what’s happening?” I asked, trying to look at him in the eye.

However, he continued running and before I knew it, we reached his car. He carefully placed me in the front seat before sitting in his seat. He opened his mouth but stopped himself when he saw the crowds of people running towards the car. “Aish.” Jaejoong murmured before starting the engine and speeding past the crowd.

“Where are we going?” I asked, getting worried at the speed he is going.

“I don’t know. Will Han River do?” He replied, slamming on his brakes when we reached the almost empty park. Still motionless, he sat in his seat and stared into space.

“What is it, Jaejoong?” I turned around to face him, his face. “You know how much trouble you’ve gotten me into, don’t you?”

Jaejoong grabbed my hand and laughed bitterly. “I’m sorry. But I thought I was going to die if I didn’t see you.”

“Wh-” Before I could even finish my question, he pulled me into an embrace and I hugged him back, sniffing in his favourite cologne which I had chosen for him. I patted his back slowly, pleased that he longed for my company. “So seriously, what happened?”

He didn’t answer but suddenly, I felt him trembling. As if his entire body was quaking, he started to let out loud sobs, although he was still hugging me tightly. Unable to realize what was happening, I continued patting his back and said, “It’s okay, Jae. You still have me.”

Jaejoong slowly stopped trembling and his sobs got softer. Seizing the opportunity, I softly pushed him away and looked at him in the eye. “Don’t cry, Jae. It hurts me to see you cry, baby.” I brushed off the tears on his face and arranged his tousled fringe.

He stared back at me with his crestfallen eyes. “I did it, baby. I really did it this time.”

“What did you do?” I whispered, fearing the worst.

“We officially filed the lawsuit against SM. We’re leaving TVXQ.” He choked on his words.

“You guys… really did it?” I asked, bewildered.  

“Yes, I feel really bad now but I really did it.” He clutched my shoulders and said, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly held his hands and shifted them to my lap. “It’s okay, Jae. It’s not your fault that the company is being bad to you. You don’t have to feel bad about it.”

“But I’m letting both Yunho and Changmin down. What are they going to do with only two members?” Jaejoong asked, clenching his fists.

I wrapped my fingers around his hands and tried to relax them. “It’s really okay, baby. You already made a decision and everything has happened. I’m sure everything will turn out well.”

“I don’t know. Am I really making a correct choice? God, if only you could just kill me.”

“I know you’ve thought really hard about this, and I know you don’t want to leave TVXQ, but if the company is really that bad to you, it’s natural that you guys leave the company. As for Yunho and Changmin, I’m sure they’ll understand. Besides, you guys can still be friends, right?”

“I don’t know. I really don’t know, baby.” He shook his head vigorously, cupping his face in his palms.

I pulled his hands down and his flushed cheeks.

“It’s really going to be okay, baby. Trust me.” I sealed my promise with a kiss.

Although Junsu, Yoochun and Jaejoong have left the group to form their own group – JYJ, I still believe that they forever belong to TVXQ as they were once the legendary Rising Gods of the East, and forever will be. Also, let’s all continuing supporting our 5 favourite boys and believe that they will return to each other, no matter what happens. It may not happen soon, but I’m positive it’ll happen in the future. All we can do now is to always keep the faith in U-know Yunho,Hero Jaejoong,Micky Yoochun,Xiah Junsu and Max Changmin. ♥