verse five

The young man, with big, round eyes, observed her every move. He watched her through holes and cracks and ajar doors and behind curtains everywhere. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. He couldn’t, even though he wanted to.

It all started years ago, when Kim Jaejoong was a mere child, about eight years of age. Zhang Liyin appeared in his life as a lost and mute little girl who was afraid of everyone. She used to just sit at her corner and fiddled with her battered violin. She would look up at anyone who bothered to approach her with her dark brown eyes full of silent questions about the world. She didn’t want to be there. She didn’t know any of the other children there and none of them wanted to even give her a second glance. There were several instances when she cried for no apparent reason. Even up until after two months of her stay at that place, Jaejoong could still hear her crying during the evenings when everyone was supposed to be asleep.

Jaejoong felt for her. They were in the same situation, both had lost the two people that had brought them to the world. They were both alone and young and Jaejoong became determined to be there for little Liyin. He became her only support. She never talked, but she listened to him. She never played with anyone else, but she spent her days with him. She never became friends with the other children, but she played her violin for Jaejoong.

She may be young, but whenever she had her violin in her hand, she was the strongest and bravest of all.

Jaejoong made himself visible to Liyin as much as he can. He was her brother at the place, the only one she trusted. He let her come with him wherever he went; sometimes she even followed him to elementary school. And, after three months or so, Liyin started to talk. And Jaejoong liked it when she talked and laughed and called his name.

He vowed never to let her go or make her cry.

“Gege, I want to learn the piano,” she asked him one day after school. And just as always, he gave in. Jaejoong could never say no to his Liyin, especially after everything they had gone through.

And that ruled Jaejoong’s life even fifteen years later.

He still never said no to anything his Riin asked or said. He loved her that much.

He taught her the piano when she asked. Even though he knew, right from the start that she wanted to learn because of someone else. That someone Jaejoong also knew. He was his friend from school, a little brother as he would like to think.

He was his rival.

A certain Kim Junsu who didn’t even know that a Zhang Liyin existed and loved him with all her heart.

Years passed and Jaejoong didn’t change. He was still there to give Liyin, now Riin, everything. The only difference was that Jaejoong was now rich. And Riin had a family for herself. Still, she loved Junsu, never even looking back to see the one who truly loved her.

It was oh-so wrong.

In Jaejoong’s ideal world, Riin was supposed to fall for him. She was supposed to only see him.

But that was in Jaejoong’s ideal world.