verse twelve

Lee Yeonhee was a beautiful woman. She was smart and witty and artistic. She was successful in her field. She had a luxurious house that she had had built from her own money. She had a couple of really nifty cars. She was kind and generous to her family.

She was perfect.

So why couldn't Kim Jaejoong look her way?

She had liked Jaejoong ever since elementary school. It was no secret. She knew it. He knew it. Even Junsu knew about it eventually. But so many years passed, they had grown up – mature and successful – and yet, Jaejoong still didn't give her a second glance.

However, she could never blame him. She knew why. She knew all the reasons why he couldn't look her way.

Because Jaejoong already had the apple of his eyes way before Yeonhee could learn how to say rendezvous. What was worst was that she could never hate him, nor her.

Lee Yeonhee was the daughter of a poor literature professor. He was a man of dignity and had an eye for the good things. But he never wanted those things for himself. He devoted himself to teaching, to opening young children's eyes to the beauty that was written or sung art. Yeonhee learned from him. She was taught about rhymes and counts and stanzas and poems. She learned of verses and songs and music.

Before Yeonhee met Jaejoong, she didn't like all those things that her father forced her into learning. She didn't like poems and instruments and songs. But Jaejoong loved those. He loved all of those in addition to notes and clefs. So Yeonhee made herself like them, too.

She thought that if she could share the things that he liked, he'd like her, too. And Yeonhee became skilled with the piano and guitar.

All for him.

All for Jaejoong.

But Jaejoong never saw her.

Never in the way she needed.

Young Lee Yeonhee met Jaejoong when her father was teaching at an elementary school in a small town in Sichuan. The boy was her classmate, although he was older than her by two years. She found out that he lived in an orphanage near school. She befriended him because he was beautiful. She liked to have Jaejoong near. She loved the sound of his laughter and his sweet voice. She loved his clumsiness and his shyness. She loved things about him that the other girls in school never liked.

She tried her best to be close to him. So one day after school, Yeonhee asked her father if she could go to a classmate's house and had him to agree. She followed Jaejoong home, not that the boy knew, and that was the first time that she saw – and knew – that she'd never be able to win Jaejoong's heart and affection for herself.

At the gates of the orphanage sat a little girl, younger than Yeonhee by a couple of years. She was hugging her knees to her chest, crying. She looked up as Jaejoong approached, her expression changing immediately.

"Joong~!" the young girl exclaimed, running into Jaejoong's arms. "I waited the whole day for you, I thought you weren't coming back."

"Shhh..." Jaejoong cooed her, brushing her soft hair with his finger and kissing her forehead. "Shhh, Liyin. I'm here now, no need to cry, okay?"

Little Liyin nodded, letting the older one wipe her tears off her face. Then she looked up and saw Yeonhee standing their, heart throbbing.

"Is she your friend, Joong?" she asked.

Jaejoong turned and realized Yeonhee's presence. His brow raised in question. What are you doing here? He seemed to ask.

"I wanted to – uhmmm – ask you to teach me math," Yeonhee lied. "But... I guess you're busy, I'll just... I'll just go and ask Su, then."

She started to run halfway through her statement, but something stopped her. Someone held onto her arm.

"Jie~!" it called, softly but with toughness. "I am Yin, Joong's orphan sister. Can we be friends?"










Riin walked towards the building lobby after her class. She was about to exit and go to her car when a black sedan stopped right in front of her. Shock made her jump but the face that appeared through the gap of the window made her smile. The person greeted her with both a smile and a soft hello, and then asked if it would be alright for her to hang out with him.

She nodded with a slight shiver and stepped onto the waiting vehicle.

"Are you sure this is alright?" Riin asked the man sitting beside her. "I don't want to cause you any trouble."

Junsu smiled, shaking his head with a firm no. "You're causing me no trouble, trust me," he replied with a wink.

The car took them to a garden restaurant. It was a very elegant place, with a romantic ambiance, and Riin couldn't help but feel so out of place. But Junsu took her by the hand, and she let him guide her to a table for two at the very heart of the beautiful garden. Junsu pulled the seat for her, waited patiently until she was fully onto it, safe and comfortable, before he made his way to the one opposite her. He seated himself and stared up at Riin.

"What?" Riin asked.

And Junsu didn't say a word.

"Didn't you ever learn that it's rude to stare?" she asked again, this time in a playful tone – or at least in a tone that could mask the sound of the pounding of her heart.

Junsu chuckled, shook his head, and continued to stare. And a long, pregnant silence pursued. It was broken – thank God – by the waitress who took their orders.

"Did you watch the press conference?" Junsu finally ask – privacy now available after the waitress was a few feet away.

"Yeah, well, a part of it. I just saw the news."

"Oh."

"Should I have watched it?"

"No," he said, hesitating for a while before continuing. "I had been – oh, how do you say this – I had been thinking about that – the questions those people asked, my answers, how I feel and –" he was cut off by the arrival of the wine.

Junsu, nearly leaping off his seat to strangle the waitress, tried his best to keep his cool, even smiling and thanking the lady for the drink.

"Anyway, I was thinking... maybe– if we – but only if you want it too – get together... like g – go steady –"

Riin gasped at his stuttering statement. Junsu was telling her that he wanted to be with her – or was she going deaf? She looked at him, his face, with her head tilted to the side, confused and in a bit of daze.

"You don't even know me, Junsu-ah." She stated, indignantly.

"I – I know that we've only really started getting to know each other a little while ago. And yes, this is going a bit too fast. And I don't really know much about you, but we can still get to know each other while we're together, right? I mean, isn't that even better?" Junsu defended.

"But–"

"Look, I may not know everything about you, I don't know much about anything, really. But there is one thing that I'm deadly sure of."

He looked at her, his hand reaching for hers and bringing them up to his lips. He tried to assure her, with tiny motions and the look of sincerity in his eyes.

"And it's that I like you. Very, very much."