After carefully swinging the door open, Yunho scanned the stylishly decorated office for a moment before he spotted Jae on the other side of the room. Cuddled up on the high windowsill bench of a large window, he was resting his head against the cool window glass and sleeping peacefully. As Yunho focused in on him, he immediately froze. Stunned by the vision before him, he couldn’t believe what his eyes were seeing. Dressed in a dark shirt under a stylish white leather jacket and slender black jeans, the young man looked as if he had just stepped out of a high fashion magazine.

As Yunho slowly made his way closer to the sleeping man, he now understood why Junsu wouldn’t answer his question. Junsu wanted him to see him for himself. Stopping in front of the window, Yunho sighed softly as he took in more of the beauty sleeping before him. His hair, a dark auburn softly highlighted by hints of blonde, cascaded down his soft face. A delicate gold chain hung around his neck, coyly hiding underneath his dark black dress shirt. His clothing was stylish and well-tailored, fitting his well defined physique perfectly.

His long and well manicured hands were adorned with several ornate silver filigree rings and rested gently on his lap. As Yunho studied the young man’s delicate hands more closely, his eyes widened as he noticed something unusual about the man's wrists. Carefully disguised by the several prayer bead bracelets on each wrist, the faint remnants of two matching scars could be seen. “Why would he do such a thing?” thought Yunho as he sadly looked at something so reminiscent of something so horrible.  

After reaching out his hand and pushing back Jaejoong’s hair from his face, Yunho placed his hand on the man's shoulder and shook him gently. His eyes fluttered slowly for a moment before he opened them fully and turned to see Yunho looking back at him with a smile. As their eyes met, Yunho stared into the beautiful brown eyes, flecked with a faint golden color, which softly looked back at him. “Beautiful.” thought Yunho as he smiled gently. So lost in thought, Yunho never noticed that the man had reached up and touched his hand.

“You’re here.” he spoke softly, disbelief lacing his words.

Dropping his eyes to the floor and pulling away his hand, Yunho frowned.

“Sorry for being so late.” sighed Yunho “I’m sorry you had to wait so long.”

“It’s alright.” he smiled as he reached up and gently patted Yunho on his shoulder.

“I had something to keep me preoccupied.” he added with a giggle as he pointed out the window.

“Oh?” questioned Yunho as he looked out the window “The skyline?”

“Yes.”  he laughed as he looked back out the window “I’ve been gone from Seoul for far too long. Ever since I got back, I find myself marveling in a city that I once called home, more and more. It’s just so beautiful.”

 “I’ve missed it.” he added softly before he turned back to face Yunho.

“It is beautiful.” nodded Yunho.

“Oh! I’m being rude right now aren’t I?” questioned the beautiful man suddenly “I should really get down from here.”

“Let me help you.” said Yunho as he reached out and grabbed Jaejoong by the arm gently.

“Thank you.” he smiled with an almost coy smile.

Jumping down and then turning to face Yunho, the man adjusted his clothes before he looked him up and down and smiled softly.

“I should introduce myself properly...” started the man resepectfully “My name is Kim Jaejoong. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you Mr. Jung Yunho.”

“Jaejoong?” questioned Yunho “That’s an interesting name. I thought it was just Jae.”

“Only my close friends call me Jae.” informed Jaejoong.

“Are we friends?” questioned Yunho coyly.

“Only if you want to be.” giggled Jaejoong mischievously.

“Ok, friends it is then.” laughed Yunho “I guess we should get this fan meeting started then, huh?”

“Yeah.” agreed Jaejoong.

Jaejoong and Yunho made their way to the nearby couch and sat down. As they sat side by side, an eerie moment of awkward silence fell between them. After a few more moments, Jaejoong spoke up with a smile.

“Ok!” laughed Jaejoong “Now that our awkward moment is over, why don’t we just talk comfortably as friends?”

“Alright.” laughed Yunho.

As Jaejoong and Yunho got to know each other better, Yunho began to feel a deeper connection with him. No matter the subject discussed, they always seemed to like the same things. Rarely disagreeing on anything, it was as if they were truly destined to be friends. As Yunho listened to Jaejoong tell a story about his first adventure at an American night club, he thought to himself “How can someone be this nice and funny?” Yunho rarely felt this type of connection with anyone and he couldn’t believe what he was feeling. Within in moments, Yunho felt as if he could spill out all of his deepest and darkest secrets to Jaejoong without fear of being ridiculed, ashamed, or shunned.  He was amazed that someone he just met could make him feel so comfortable, and safe, so fast.

Jaejoong, on the other hand, was still being a little reserved around Yunho. He had been a fan of his for so long, that he was afraid he would somehow insult the person he had looked up to and adored for all these years. Choosing his words carefully, being careful not to make any unwanted physical contact, and making sure to pay strict attention to Yunho’s every word; Jaejoong talked with and studied Yunho at the same time. He had always thought that he and Yunho would have a lot in common, enough so to maybe even become close friends if they ever met, but he had no real idea how much so until they started talking. Jaejoong was quite surprised and as the night went on, he began to feel a connection to Yunho that he thought he would never have.

He couldn’t help noticing, as he talked with Yunho, how much Yunho smiled at him. Yunho wasn’t well known for smiling. He usually carried a straight face or a half smile, but tonight he was smiling brightly. “I guess he feels comfortable with me.” Jaejoong thought as he listened to Yunho tell the story about the first time he fell on stage during a concert. Trying his best not to laugh, Jaejoong covered his mouth to hold it back, which caught Yunho’s attention.

“Why do you always cover your mouth when you laugh?” asked Yunho “You do that a lot.”

“I don’t know.” said Jaejoong “I always have.”

“You shouldn’t.” advised Yunho “You have a bright smile. You should show it off.”

As Jaejoong nodded back at Yunho in agreement his stomach growled loudly.

“Oh, sorry.” said Jaejoong embarrassed “It has a mind of its own sometimes.”

“Are you hungry?” asked Yunho “You did wait for me for a long time. Did you have dinner?”

“Not yet.” answered Jaejoong.

“Do you want to go grab something to eat with me?” asked Yunho “I’ll treat you.”

“Thank you but that’s not necessary.” answered Jaejoong.

Looking down at the clock on his phone, Jaejoong gasped softly before he looked back up at Yunho.

“Do you know what time it is?” asked Jaejoong sarcastically “It’s after midnight already.”

“Really?” questioned Yunho as he looked down at his watch “Wow. Where did the time go?”

“I really should get going.” sighed Jaejoong “And you should too. You need your rest.”

“Junsu tells me that you’ve been over sleeping a lot lately.” laughed Jaejoong coyly “I better let you go home before I get in trouble for keeping you out all night.”

“It’s alright.” laughed Yunho “I won’t let you get in trouble, I promise.”

“But still, I really should get going.” sighed Jaejoong “I have meetings in the morning.”

“Alright.” said Yunho as he stood up and grabbed his coat “Let me at least walk you out.”

Jaejoong put his jacket back on and followed Yunho out of the office and into the elevator. As the doors closed, Jaejoong pulled out his phone and sent a quick text before he looked up at Yunho.  Watching Yunho, Jaejoong couldn’t help but wonder if Yunho really felt comfortable around him.  When the elevator doors opened up on the first floor, Yunho held the doors for Jaejoong to get out first and as he exited, he looked up at Jaejoong and smiled.

“You know.” started Yunho as they went through the main doors “I had a really nice time talking with you.”

“Me too.” answered Jaejoong “It was fun.”

“Do you need a ride home?” questioned Yunho “I could take you.”

“That’s not necessary. My ride will be here in a few minutes.” answered Jaejoong “But, thank you for the offer.”

“So...” asked Yunho coyly "Did you have a memorable birthday?"

“The best one yet.” laughed Jaejoong “I’ll have to hug Junsu for this, for sure.”

“He’ll like that I bet.” snickered Yunho.

“Oh!” said Jaejoong as he noticed a car coming up the street.

“There’s my ride.” he added as a white Jaguar pulled up to the curb.

“Ok.” sighed Jaejoong disappointingly “I have to go now. It was a pleasure spending time with you Yunho and thanks for taking the time out to meet with me on my birthday. It was fun.”

“I had a great time.” said Yunho with a smile.

“Here.” he added as he pulled out one his business cards from his coat pocket and handed it to Yunho “Anytime you want to chat again, give me a call.”

“I will.” nodded Yunho as he glanced at the card and quickly put it in his jacket pocket.

With that, Jaejoong gave Yunho a respectful bow and walked towards the awaiting car. As he got closer, the driver side door swung open and a beautiful woman with long raven hair stepped out. She walked around the car and got to the sidewalk just as Jaejoong got there. The young woman instantly through her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Jaejoong smiled brightly at the sight of the young woman and hugged her back even harder. “Girlfriend?” thought Yunho as he watched them interact. After a few moments of chatting quietly to one another, Jaejoong escorted her to the passenger door and opened it. Closing the door behind her, Jaejoong ran to the driver’s side door and with one last wave goodbye to Yunho, he got in and drove off.

Seconds later, Yunho felt a hand land on his shoulder.

“So?” laughed Junsu “How did it go?”

Turning back to see Junsu smiling back at him, Yunho just shook his head in disbelief.

“Have you been waiting this whole time?” laughed Yunho.

“Of course.” giggled Junsu “So, how did it go?”

“He was very nice. I had fun.” said Yunho before he suddenly hit Junsu on the shoulder “You could have warned me!”

“What?” cried out Junsu as he immediately rubbed the spot where Yunho had hit him.

“So that’s why you avoided my question so much.” laughed Yunho as he nodded in the direction Jaejoong had went.

“You needed to see it for yourself.” laughed Junsu “There’s no way I could describe Jaejoong and do him any sense of justice.”

“He is a rare beauty.” added Junsu.

“It’s too bad though...” started Junsu before he trailed off.

“What’s too bad?” questioned Yunho.

“Well…” continued Junsu as he motioned for Yunho to follow him towards the parking garage “As kindhearted, supportive, loyal, and loving as Jaejoong is, he doesn’t think too highly of himself.”

“What do you mean?” questioned Yunho.

“He’s very loving and caring towards others.” sighed Junsu “But he has no love for himself. He never thinks he’s good enough, smart enough, or handsome enough. He has a real bad inferiority complex.”

“It didn’t seem that way to me.” retorted Yunho as they entered the parking garage.

“He hides his scars well.” scoffed Junsu.

“Not all of them.” sighed Yunho sadly as he dropped his eyes to the ground.

“You saw them too, I see.” frowned Junsu “He usually keeps them covered up.”

“And before you ask, I don’t know what happened.” added Junsu “That’s a part of Jae’s life that he’s never talked about, not even to me.”

“So…” stuttered Yunho after a few moments of silence “Was that Jae’s girlfriend?”

“You’ll have to ask Jae about her.” sighed Junsu “I really don’t know.”

“I thought you two were really close?” questioned Yunho confused.

“We are.” laughed Junsu “But, Jae’s really doesn’t talk about her much. I’m not sure what she is to him just yet. “

“Alright.” acknowledged Yunho as they arrived at his car in the parking garage “This is mine.”

“I’m over there.” answered Junsu as he pointed to his car.

“Oh! Before I go…” said Junsu as he reached into his coat pocket “I have something for you.”

“What?” questioned Yunho.

"Here, take this. ” said Junsu as he handed Yunho an envelope “It's an invitation to a banquet tomorrow night. “

“One of my clients is having a party in celebration for the launch of his new clothing brand.” continued Junsu “There will be a lot of A-List celebrities there. It will be fun and a great opportunity for you to make some more business contacts.”

“It’s a plus one invitation, so you can bring Yoochun along as well.” added Junsu.

“Sounds interesting.” answered Yunho as he opened the envelope and looked at the invitation “Will you be there?”

“Absolutely! We’re handling the PR for his new clothing line.” laughed Junsu.

“What about Jae?” whispered Yunho softly.

“Maybe.” laughed Junsu mischievously “So I’ll see you there?”

“Sure.” answered Yunho. 

ἐ