-Zhang Li Yin-

“What’s taking those two guys so long?” I asked myself, starting to run out of patience. I had told them to get over here as soon as they finished freshening up, but it’s already been an hour and they are still not here.

*DING DONG*

“Finally you two are here!” I said as I opened the door to see them coming in with bags of food in their hands.

“Hey, we were getting food over here so that Jaejoong could make us something good.” Junsu replied.

“Whatever, just come in and hurry up. My stomach has been growling ever since we got back.” I whined as I dragged Junsu’s arm into the kitchen.

“How about I go make dinner while you two just stay out here and talk?” Jaejoong suggested as he pointed to the couch.

“I’ll come help you. You are my guest after all.” I sighed.

“Don’t worry about it. Just stay in here. I’m sure Junsu will be bored to death if there is no one to talk to him.” Jaejoong chuckled as he walked to the kitchen, leaving only Junsu and I.

After Jaejoong went into the kitchen, Junsu sat down on the couch and the TV. He switched to his favorite channel and watched with gleaming eyes. He didn’t say a single word to me. I felt like I should talk to him.

“So, how’s Yunho?” I asked him, worried that Yunho was still upset.

“He’s same as when we were on the plane. He called me when he got home. I could tell that he was really upset, so I didn’t want to ask him any questions concerning Eunji, because that will just make things worse. I’m glad that Eunji broke up with him beforehand, or else, she would have hurt him even deeper later on. I’m sure Yunho would love Eunji even more as time went by.” Junsu explained to me.

“You’re right…” I wondered off.

‘What if the reason she broke up with Yunho was because she likes someone else?’ I started to ask myself. I started to worry.

“I’m going to go see if Jaejoong needs any help.” I sighed as I got up from the couch and joined Jaejoong.

“Hey, why’d you come in here? You should have stayed in the living room with Junsu.” Jaejoong said once he saw me enter the kitchen.

“He started to talk about Yunho and Eunji, and then I kept on thinking about Junsu and Eunji.” I told him as I washed my hands and started to cut the vegetables.

“What’s there to think about? I think you should stop thinking about things like that. You’re only hurting yourself you know? I don’t want to watch you get hurt.” Jaejoong spoke softly as he gazed into my eyes.

“I know…” I murmured.

“I think I’m almost done with dinner. You should go get plates and utensils ready. Then go and get Eunji. Dinner should be ready in about fifteen minutes.” Jaejoong instructed me.

I simply nodded and went to do what he told me. After setting up the table, I walked down the hallway to go to Eunji’s room. But as I approached the door, I saw that the door was opened ajar. Just as I was about to knock on the door, I saw that Junsu was inside sitting on Eunji’s bed talking to her.

“Stop worrying Eunji. Yunho will be fine soon.” I heard him say to Eunji.

“But… I think I hurt him too deep.” Eunji sniffled.

“Hey, he’ll get better, stop worrying. If you really do care about him, treat him as a friend and find someone that you actually love and will cherish.” Junsu looked into her eyes with a memorizing stare.

“Junsu…” She started to sob as she placed her head on Junsu’s shoulder. I then saw Junsu wrap his arms around Eunji, embracing her.

I couldn’t handle it anymore, so I quickly backed away and went to sit on the couch. I couldn’t believe what just happened. I could feel my heart shattering a bit just by seeing what happened. Slowly, as I close my eyes, a teardrop falls from my eyes, leaving behind a wet trail on my cheek.

“Eunji… what happened?” Jaejoong asked softly as he appeared beside me with a tissue, wiping away my tears.

I shook my head, not wanting to talk about it. Witnessing it was already enough, but I don’t want to repeat the same scene in my head or in Jaejoong’s head. I know Jaejoong will understand.

“Oh… It’s probably Junsu and Eunji, isn’t it? I know Junsu’s inside Eunji’s room. Nothing will happen.” Jaejoong said as he caressed my hair.

“I don’t want to talk about it. Can we eat dinner?” I asked, feeling all depressed inside.

“Okay, you should go eat first. I’ll get Eunji and Junsu.” Jaejoong says as he stood up from the couch. But just as he was about to go to Eunji’s room, both Junsu and Eunji come out.

“Oh, good timing, time for dinner.” Jaejoong say to them.

“Great! I’m starving!” Junsu smiles as he takes the seat across from me. Eunji sits beside him while Jaejoong sits beside me.

We all dig in and eat. Junsu was talking to Eunji the entire time. They were laughing and smiling at each other. I knew I was jealous. I stared at my food on my plate. I didn’t really have much of an appetite to eat, but because I don’t want the others to be asking questions, I ate bits of my dinner.

“LiYin, stop staring at them. Just act normal, okay?” Jaejoong nudged my side.

I listened to him and stopped staring at them. I continued to eat my dinner.

After finishing up dinner, I stayed in the kitchen to clean the dishes while Eunji and Junsu went to sit on the couch and watch some TV. Jaejoong stayed behind to help me. But he stayed quiet and helped me clean the dishes. I didn’t want to say anything either.

“Do you want to go and join them?” Jaejoong asked me once we were finished putting away all the dishes and cutting up some fruits.

“I guess so…” I said softly as I walked into the living room.

Once we entered the living room, I saw Eunji’s head resting on Junsu’s shoulder. I stopped in my tracks as I stared at the back of their heads. Once again, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

Jaejoong coughed to get their attention. Eunji quickly lifted her head off of Junsu’s shoulder and faced us. She didn’t look like she meant to put her head on his shoulder because it looked like she just woke up.

“Sorry, did we wake you up?” I softly asked.

“Oh, no it’s fine.” Eunji smiled at me.

“Here, I got you guys some fruits, thought that you’d want some after some dinner. I’ll be on the balcony if you guys need me.” I smiled weakly at them as I placed the plate of fruits on the coffee table and left to go back to my room where my balcony is.

I lean against the door that I just closed. I held onto the fabric that was just resting on my beating heart. This time, the beating heart was not beating because of happiness; it was beating because of sadness. I did not like the scene with Junsu and Eunji just now.

“Why is it that I still love you Junsu? Why is it that I’m not able to stop loving you?” I ask myself quietly as I start to cry.

Suddenly, I hear someone knocking on my door. I wipe away my tears quickly and try to talk like I hadn’t cried.

“Who is it?” I tried my best to talk normally.

“It’s Jaejoong. Can I come in?” I hear Jaejoong’s voice say softly.

I slowly opened the door to see if it was only him, and it was only him, no one else. I let him in and walked towards the balcony. Jaejoong shut the door and followed me out.

We both took a seat on the bench that was facing the open city in front of us. The night sky was just as beautiful as any other night. But the stars tonight didn’t seem to be sparkling as bright as other nights. It was like my own feelings; they weren’t as great as other nights.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Jaejoong read me like a book.

“I think I should just give up on him.” I replied.

“Why? Don’t you love him?” He asks me.

“I do… but… it’s just so hard. I obviously know that he doesn’t like me. So why should I be wasting my time loving someone who doesn’t love me back?” I started to get sniffles.

“LiYin, ask your heart what it wants. If you are ready to give up on him, then do so. But if you still like him, there’s no other way.” Jaejoong said as he leaned closer and embraced me.

“Jaejoong… I’m so stupid.” I couldn’t hold the tears in anymore. I left them flow out as Jaejoong’s hold tightened around me.

I fell asleep in Jaejoong’s arms. He had also fallen asleep with his chin on my head. We slept until sunrise.

“Jaejoong, look it’s sunrise already.” I spoke as I shook the sleeping Jaejoong. I was happy to know that he’s willing to stay with me whenever I’m out of place.

“Huh?” He answered groggily as he rubbed his eyes.

I took a look at his gesture. I actually found it cute.

“Hey, this is actually the first time that I’m taking a serious look at the sunrise. The rest of the times, I’m always either still sleeping or I’m driving to work.” Jaejoong chuckled.

“You should really stop being a workaholic.” I pointed at him.

“I can’t help it. My parents have faith in me.” Jaejoong sighed.

The both of us stayed silent for a while as we watched the sun rise. The sight in front of us was amazing. The orange yellowish color of the sun was much more beautiful than the night sky itself.

“Jaejoong, is there someone that you love?” I suddenly asked. I know that I’ve always only talked about my love life, so now I just wanted to hear about Jaejoong’s love life.