She was beautiful. Long legs and a slim but well trained body showed that she obviously enjoyed doing sports. Her best body features however were definitely her eyes. They were large and had a chocolate brown color – the kind of eyes you could drown in. As she looked up to him, these eyes were like windows through which he could spot her friendly and playful character. Nevertheless she seemed to be a little bit lost, standing all by herself in front of the supermarket. So although Yunho didn’t exactly had time for even just a short talk he slowly approached her.

“Good evening beautiful lady. What are you doing here all alone, huh? Are you waiting for someone?”

“Woof!” the female golden retriever replied happily, obviously very content about the unexpected company. Yunho knew she was female as she was wearing some kind of small red blanket, on which was printed in large capital letters “LADIES FIRST”.

The brunet chuckled as he crouched down and began to pet the soft fur of the dog.

“Who are you waiting for, hm? How could she – or he – be so stonehearted and leave you here all alone? What if someone tries to steal you?”

“Then she would kick – or rather bite – that idiot’s so hard he wouldn’t be able to walk for at least one week.” a soft voice said behind him. The soft tone contrasted strongly with the words the man was saying.

Surprised Yunho turned around and stood up properly to look at the other man. The latter wasn’t as tall as he himself and just like his dog he seemed to be slim but sportive. With his stylish clothes (including large sunglasses which covered half of his face) and his dark red hair he gave of a kind of feminine aura. Yunho didn’t need to think twice to decide, that the stranger was the most beautiful man he had ever seen.

He flashed his famous charming smile at the other man and chuckled. “So I’ll better not try my luck, right?”

The dog’s owner nodded, obviously unimpressed by Yunho’s charm as he returned his smile halfheartedly. “You better not. And just to inform you: I’m not stonehearted but coldheartedly repressed by the government.”

Yunho stared at the man in front of him, mouth hanging wide open. “What?” he asked dumbly.

Without another word or even turning his head the other pointed at a large sign at the wall of the supermarket.

>> NO DOGS INSIDE THE BUILDING! <<

“O..Oh…” Yunho slowly said, feeling rather stupid.

“Don’t you think it’s really weird that there are always signs telling you that it’s forbidden to bring your dog inside – but never one about a cat? Or a parrot! What if someone walks into a supermarket with a parrot on his shoulder? That thing could start cussing at everyone! My Cassie would never even think bad about someone… except the person is really stupid.”

“Well…” Yunho said hesitantly, oddly fascinated by the stranger’s behavior. Now that he thought about it… the other was right. Not that this sudden awareness would ever be useful in his whole life, but still… yeah…

The beautiful man smiled distractedly. Although his smile was now much brighter than a few minutes before, Yunho felt slightly uncomfortable because of the latter’s large sunglasses. Normally he could read people quite easily, sensing their emotions and hidden thoughts by looking into their eyes. This time though, the tall brunet had no clue what the other male was thinking, or if the smile was faked or not. He couldn’t read the stranger at all, which somehow piqued his interest even more.

“I’m sorry for talking nonsense.”, the soft voice of the stranger suddenly interrupted his thoughts. “You must think I’m insane.”

Yunho laughed and shook his head. “No, no, I think you’re perfectly normal… kind of.”

Smooth, Yunho, really smooth.

“What I wanted to say… You don’t have to worry, really, I’ve met weirder people before.”

Even smoother.

“I should just shut up now.” the brunet sighted, feeling more embarrassed than ever before. Where was his usual charm and wit? Everyone praised him for being a good talker, for being funny and smart – and nevertheless he couldn’t say a full sentence towards this man without embarrassing himself.

By now the shorter man in front of him was smiling widely, and Yunho could swear that he even heard a quiet chuckle.

“It’s okay, let’s just say we’re equal in talking awkward nonsense, alright?”

Yunho nodded silently, amazed how much one sincere smile could change the face of this stranger. If the latter had appeared kind of cold at first, he now gave of the image of a little child, making Yunho wondering about the other’s age.

Suddenly an impatient golden retriever reminded the two men that a lady should have the full attention of every present man.

“Seems as if my wife wants me to go home.” The dog’s owner shrugged and grabbed two bags full of grocery.

Yunho himself didn’t know why he was so interested in the man in front of him. He knew nothing about him besides the fact that he was beautiful, had a weird humor and a wife with four legs. And all that he wanted was to learn more about him.

So although it didn’t match with his plans at all, the brunet found himself calling after the stranger.

“Hey, I’m sorry, but… this may sounds really weird… err… I’d really like to know your name.”

The other man had stopped walking away, and although Yunho couldn’t see his eyes, he could feel the curious stare of the latter.

“My name is Yunho by the way, Jung Yunho.” he added quickly.

A small smile appeared on the other’s face. “My name is Kim Jaejoong. And this lady here is Cassiopeia, but since she seems to like you, you can call her Cassie.”

Yunho nodded and smiled widely, but again the stranger seemed to be unaffected by this action. Hesitantly the taller added: “So… I hope we’ll see each other again.”

It seemed as if the smile of the other man became a little bit bitter. “Yeah… I don’t think we’ll see each other again, but maybe we’ll meet each other one day.”

With these words he left, leaving an overall confused Yunho behind.    

****

After five years of living in the never sleeping capital of South Korea, Seoul, Yunho couldn’t help but feel a little bit out of place as he was walking down the calm street of the small village. It wasn’t like he didn’t like the relaxed and silent atmosphere of the village, but he just wasn’t used to it anymore. Nevertheless he was happy that his mother had decided to move from their former house in Gwangju into the small but pretty apartment he was heading to at the moment. He knew that she had felt sad and quite uncomfortable in the big house after her husband had died two years ago a sudden death. It had been a hard time for all of them, his mother, his younger sister and Yunho himself, but he hoped that his mother could start to enjoy her life again.

Slowly he walked up the stairs until he reached the third floor. While he was walking down the corridor he could hear various noises from the other apartments – a mother yelling at her son, a dog barking and a little kid crying. Although it was quite noisy, Yunho couldn’t help but to smile. This was life, this was what being a human meant. He knew his mother liked it as well, since it made her feel less lonely.

Reaching the right door, he quickly dialed in the code to open it and stepped into the apartment.

“Mom, I’m home.” he shouted, trying to not be too loud. It made him feel more like a little kid again than a twenty-five-years old man, announcing that he was ‘home’ to his mother.

“Perfect, sweetheart.” His mother said, stepping around the corner to give him a warm hug. “Did you find everything I wanted you to buy?”

Yunho nodded while heading towards the kitchen. “Yes, and I even met someone very interesting.”

Immediately his mother eyed him curiously. “Someone ‘very interesting’? A man? Was he nice? Do you know his name?”

Yunho chuckled while putting the groceries into the fridge. “Yes, a man. And he was very nice, pretty funny actually. And–“ he grinned cheekily at his mother. “One of the most beautiful men I’ve ever seen.”

Failing to suppress a squeal his mother clapped her hands together. Surprisingly she had never had a problem with Yunho being gay. Instead she had forced him to watch a few sappy dramas with her and to tell her which male actor he liked. To say it had been embarrassing would be the understatement of the year.

“I’m so happy for you. Why don’t you call him over tomorrow? We already have guests today, some really sweet neighbors of mine, but I would like to meet said man as early as possible.”

Yunho bit his lip, scratching his head a little bit helpless. “Well mom… Besides this being a little bit… rushed, I don’t exactly have his phone number.”

His mother gave him a scolding look, as if he was a five year old who had just spilled his apple juice over her precious laptop (it had been an accident, okay? He had been five!!). “How can you have his phone number not exactly? And here I thought you’re finally old enough to handle these things on your own!”

Before Yunho had a chance to defend himself, an annoying bell interrupted their talk.

“God, I have to change that bell tone somehow. It gives me a headache.” His mother muttered. Then she looked at her son and added quickly: “Listen son, this family is really nice, but you have to be a little bit careful. Their oldest son – he’s one year older than you – is blind. It’s a tragedy, really, but don’t be pitiful, because he hates that. And his younger brother is very protective of him, so… just… be nice.”

Yunho looked at her, feeling a little bit hurt. “Mom, you talk as if I’m an impolite brat. I know very well how to behave!”

His mother chuckled while walking towards the door. “I know, I know, after all it was still your dear father and me who taught you these great manners you have.”

Yunho scoffed but smiled. The new surroundings obviously helped his mother to get back to her witty and happy self.

Still in the kitchen he could hear the front door opening and his mother greeting their guests. He could also hear the paws of a dog, which their neighbors apparently owned.

Seems like I’m being chased by dogs today, Yunho thought as he followed his mother to welcome their guests as well.

“… very handsome, really. I– Oh, here he is. This is my oldest, my son Yunho. Yunho, these are Kim Jinhee and her sons.”

Normally Yunho would bow politely, introducing himself and smiling this charming smile of him. This time though he didn’t move at all. Instead he was staring at the older of the woman’s two sons, who was not even looking at him while his right hand hold onto the leash of the beautiful golden retriever.

“Err... h-hi.” he stuttered. “Nice to meet you.”

Finally he could tear his gaze away from Jaejoong and look at the latter’s mother who smiled genuinely at him. “It’s nice to finally meet you too, Yunho. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

A little, embarrassed laugher on his lips Yunho returned her smile. “Well, I hope it was nothing too bad.”

Jinhee laughed. “Oh don’t worry, I’ve only heard the best.”

There was a not-so-silent scoff from her side and she turned her head slightly to give one of her sons a small glare. Then she turned to face Yunho again, smiling at him apologetically. “I’m sorry, this young man here doesn’t quite get the whole ‘manners-are-important-thing’ yet. This is Changmin, he’s my younger son. And this–“ she pointed at the one man who wasn’t a stranger to Yunho anymore. “­ – this is my oldest son, Jaejoong.”

Said man bowed lightly. “It’s nice to meet you… again.” he said with a little smile.

Ignoring the surprised (or, in Changmin’s case, suspicious) looks of the others, Yunho returned the smile. “Same here. I’m glad your wife gave you some time to go out again.” He bent down to pet Cassie, who happily wagged its tail and barked softly.

Adjusting his sunglasses Jaejoong laughed lightly and nodded. “Honestly said I was quite surprised. She must really like you, and maybe she knew better than me who we were going to visit today.”

Before Yunho could answer, their conversation was interrupted by the tall, quite young looking brother of Jaejoong. “You know each other?” Changmin asked, his whole expression shouting that he didn’t approve that fact at all.

“Changmin…” his mother said quietly, a warning undertone in her voice.

Yunho’s mother quickly cleared and tried to cover the suddenly tensed atmosphere with a smile. “Why don’t you come in first and we all sit down? It will be much more comfortable that way.”

Yunho’s eyes followed every move of Jaejoong as the latter slowly walked towards the living room, his dog always next to him, leading him safely.

****

A few hours later Yunho knew a lot things more.

First, Jaejoong wasn’t born blind. He had had an accident with sixteen, which had changed his life forever. It had happened during chemistry class at school that he got some acidic liquid in his face. It hadn’t even been his own fault but the one of his teacher who hadn’t calculated the mixing proportion right. The firing of said teacher hadn’t helped Jaejoong anymore, who had been blind since then. The skin of his face could be healed, but his eyes had suffered too much. Now, almost ten years later, he was used to life in never ending darkness around him. As he said, he was thankful that he could perfectly remember how the world around him looked like, and because of his lovely guide dog Cassie he could walk around safely. He could even go grocery shopping with leaving her outside, since he knew the small never-changing market by heart.

Second, Jaejoong didn’t want any pity. He had seemed to sense Yunho’s curiosity, so he told the slightly younger the whole story. Nevertheless he didn’t even gave Yunho a chance to say some comforting words and dropped the topic immediately.

Third, Changmin was the most possessive, over-protective and jealous little brother Yunho had ever met. Not that he had met a lot of them, but he was sure that this guy topped them all. Whenever he only dared to look at Jaejoong, he could feel the angered stare of the twenty-one years old man. It seemed as if Changmin didn’t like the behavior of his brother either, who obviously enjoyed talking with Yunho. Every now and then the tall jealousy- man would interrupted their talk, making snarky comments on everything Yunho said. Jaejoong himself was quite annoyed by now, whispering to his brother to simply ‘shut up and keep staring at that stupid mobile phone of yours’.

Suppressing a heavy sigh, Yunho opened the fridge to get another bottle of water and one of juice for him and the Kim-brothers. Honestly said he was relieved to get this chance to relax for a second and just think about everything.

He would have never imagined that Jaejoong was blind. The latter had appeared so confident. Nevertheless it made sense. Jaejoong never directly looked at him when he talked, just at his direction. This also explained why he was not impressed with Yunho’s (honestly said) good looks and charming smile. Thinking about it, it was a nice change. He didn’t need to worry about Jaejoong being only friendly to him because of his looks. Somehow it made their acquaintance much more sincere.

Suddenly he felt something nudging him into his knees. Surprised he turned around, just to be greeted by an excited golden retriever lady and her owner.

“Oh… err… hi.” He said nervously. One second later he wanted to slap himself because they had just spent hours together and he really didn’t need to greet Jaejoong as if he hadn’t see him all day.

“Hi.” Jaejoong smiled and greeted him back. “I just wondered if you have a bowl we can fill with some water, since Cassie here turns into a sassy diva when she’s thirsty.”

“Oh, sure.” Yunho smiled and opened one of the cupboards to search for a bowl. “Sorry if it takes a while, I don’t have any idea how my mother arranged this whole stuff. And since I only arrived this morning, I didn’t have a chance yet to search through everything.”

Jaejoong hummed understandingly while petting Cassie. “No problem. I live in our new apartment together with my mother since three years now, but I still get confused. Or maybe it’s just Changmin trying to annoy me by arranging everything differently every second day…”

Yunho chuckled somewhat pained at the thought of Jaejoong’s younger brother. “He’s that kind of guy, isn’t he?”

“He can be really funny and great to be around, but he doesn’t trust strangers easily. I’m sorry if he made you uncomfortable, please don’t take it too personally.”

Yunho shrugged and murmured a quick ‘It’s okay’, but he wasn’t completely convinced by the older’s words. How could he not take the heated death glares of Changmin personally?

“So you aren’t living together with your mom?” Jaejoong asked casually, while he listened to Yunho filling the bowl with some water.

Pleasantly surprised by the other’s interest, Yunho nodded. Then he remembered, that Jaejoong couldn’t see his nod, so he quickly said: “Yes, I’m living on my own. I’ve got a small apartment in Seoul.”

“Oh, wow. Then it must have been quite a shock to drive out here! Do you prefer the big city?”

“Not really. I mean, it’s practically since I work there and everywhere I go I’ve got a supermarket only four feet away, but… It’s hectic. I like the relaxed atmosphere out here, that you can easily walk for half an hour without seeing a driving car at all. I just… have the impression that I finally can take a full breath, you know?” Yunho laughed a little embarrassed. Normally he didn’t open up about his thoughts and feelings so easily, but something about Jaejoong’s way to just stand there and listen to him made it hard to stop talking.

“I know exactly what you mean. I’ve once spent a few weeks in Seoul, I think it was two years ago… no wait, one and a half, and although the energy of the whole city and the huge crowd of people walking on the streets no matter what time of the day – well, it was pretty impressive, but nothing for me. It just… doesn’t suit me, you know?”

Yunho agreed, looking at the other man with true sympathy. He knew that the latter purposely didn’t add another point to the reasons why he didn’t like the city. For a blind person it was almost impossible to feel at home with everything always changing and moving around him. But he understood why Jaejoong didn’t want to talk about it, and he silently admired how the older had obviously accepted his fate. He knew a lot of people who couldn’t even accept a lost poker game, so he couldn’t help but think of Jaejoong as an amazing person.

“Can I ask you a question?” he asked hesitantly, since he really didn’t want to hurt the older’s feelings.

“Sure, whatever you want to know.” Jaejoong agreed, looking at his direction expectantly.

“How… how can you always look right in my direction, even when I’m not talking or moving? I mean… since you can’t see me…” Yunho stopped, not sure how to express what he wanted to know.

Jaejoong laughed. It was the first time Yunho heard the older laughing out loudly, and he was surprised that the laugher was rather… special. It was loud and carefree, and Yunho though that it was a miracle that someone like Jaejoong, who had been through so much, could have such an amazing laugher.

“Don’t worry, you’re not the first one who asks this question. You know, although I can’t see anything, it doesn’t mean I can’t experience the world around me. For example do I hear a lot more than people usually do. You don’t even realize how heavy you breath, do you? Or how you shift from the right to the left foot every minute? Also I smell a lot better now that I need to concentrate on it.”

Yunho stared at the older in pure awe. To be honest he never really thought about how blind people ‘see’ the world, and Jaejoong’s words impressed him a lot.

Their talk was interrupted as the one person Yunho didn’t want to see at the moment stepped into the kitchen. Changmin looked at them with narrowed eyes, before he turned to his brother.

“Hyung, mom wants you to come back to the living room. Something about the recipe of those cupcakes you always bake.”

Jaejoong nodded and flashed a short smile in the direction of Yunho.

“You bake cupcakes?” Yunho asked, the tone of his voice more than amused.

“No.” Jaejoong shook his head and grinned. “I bake amazing cupcakes.”

Yunho chuckled as he watched the other man leaving the room, which let him and Changmin alone in the kitchen. He grabbed the water and the juice and wanted to follow Jaejoong outside, but the younger man blocked his way.

“You needed quite long to just grab something to drink, don’t you think?” Changmin asked dryly. The tall man (or rather boy, since he didn’t act like a twenty-years old at all) crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Yunho with a piercing glare.

“Well, yes, and I’ll definitely will need even more time, if you keep on blocking my way.”

“Ha ha. Funny. Not.” Changmin said sarcastically. “Listen, I don’t want to waste my time with you, so I’ll get straight to the point. Stay. Away. From. My. Brother.”

Yunho blinked in confusion and stared at the other. “Why?” he simply asked, not intending to stay away from Jaejoong at all.
“Because I know that you gonna hurt him. And as his brother I tell you now that either you stay away from him, or I’ll give my best that you wish you’d have never left your damn apartment in Seoul.”

“Yunho laughed. “Oh, really? Don’t you think you’d need some help to do that?” Seriously, that kid needed to be taught some manners.

Changmin smirked. “Oh, I’ve got enough friends. And they’re even worse than me.”

Loosing his patience, Yunho sighed heavily. “Listen, I just like talking to your brother, because he’s funny and amazing and whatever more. I wont hurt him or anything like this. And don’t you think Jaejoong is old enough to decided on his own with whom he wants to spend his time?”

More than annoyed he not-so-gently pushed Changmin aside to get to the door. “And just to inform you: Your brother and I aren’t even official friends yet, we only met a few hours ago, for God’s sake! How could I possibly intend to hurt him after such a short time?”

Changmin rubbed his arm and glared at Yunho again. “Others could too.” he murmured more to himself than anyone else, but Yunho heard it nevertheless. However, even though he was curious what the younger was talking about, he decided to ignore it. Everything what had happened in the past, Jaejoong could tell him himself, if he wanted to.

Shaking his head about Changmin’s unbelievable behavior, Yunho walked towards the living room and sat down next to Jaejoong again.

****

“Did you ask him out on a date yet?”

Yunho sighed. “No, I–“

“Why not? You spend more time with him than with me, and I am the reason why you’re even here.”

“Mom, I’m sorry if­–“

“No no, it’s no problem, really. I’m happy you found someone you like, especially since it’s someone as wonderful as Jaejoong. But don’t you think it’s time to… take your relationship to the next level?”

Yunho stared at his mother a little bit helpless. “I don’t want to rush things.” he muttered under his breath, but his mother heard him nevertheless.

She scoffed. “What do you mean, ‘rush things’? Your speaking nonsense again, my beloved son. You know each other for one and a half week now, just man up already and ask him out!”

“Mooom!” Yunho whined, embarrassed because of his mother’s behavior. He was twenty-five years old, he didn’t need help with his relationships anymore! It wasn’t like he didn’t want to ask Jaejoong out, or to be more than friends with the dark-red-haired man in general. But things were… complicated.

First of all, he didn’t even know if Jaejoong wanted them to be more than friends. They get along amazingly, there were no awkward moments or misunderstandings. He could talk sincerely and freely about everything with the older, and they had a lot of things in common. They even liked the same kind of music and Jaejoong had been speechless as Yunho told him that he was a choreographer and songwriter of a quite big entertainment company. They had the same kind of humor, but different taste of food. More than once they had ended up eating what the other didn’t like about his dinner. Jaejoong’s mother Jinhee and her husband (who Yunho had met a few days later after their first meeting) liked Yunho a lot, and the latter’s mother… well, she was crazy about Jaejoong.

It could have been so perfect. But never once had Jaejoong hinted that he wanted something more than friendship. Sure, he called Yunho quite often and seemed to enjoy the younger’s company. But he never initiated skin ship or something like that.

One of Yunho’s biggest fears was that the older felt like his blindness made Yunho uncomfortable in any way. Of course he sometimes pitied the other, although he knew the latter hated it. Countless times Yunho had wished that he would have been there that day, that he could have protected Jaejoong. But neither him nor Jaejoong could change the past, so just like the older he tried to make the best out of the present he was living in. Sometimes he even forgot that Jaejoong was blind, since the latter moved so confidently and seemed to always knew what was going on around him. His dog Cassie was essential for this confidence though, leading him through his life as a new pair of eyes.

She loved Yunho as well.

Really, they could be together in no time. Yunho had called the company and had taken a whole month off (It’s all about connections…), so they had enough time to get to know each other even better as well.

There was just one other problem. Changmin.

The tall boy still didn’t approve Yunho’s friendship with his brother, and slowly the brunet started to run out of ideas to convince the younger of his trustworthy intentions. He had tried to talk with Changmin countless times, with or without Jaejoong’s help, but it was all in vain. The younger hold on to in his jealous over-protectiveness and hadn’t said a single nice word to Yunho yet.

Until one day.

Whistling awfully out of tune along his favorite song, Yunho stood in the elevator. Normally he took the stairs, but with three bags full of damn heavy groceries no intelligent comment about a healthy way of life could get his towards the stairs. He stopped whistling as the elevator reached the third floor and the doors opened. Grabbing the bags he stepped out of the cabin and headed towards his mother’s apartment.

There were two there man on the floor, and surprisingly one of them was Changmin. Yunho hadn’t seen him with anyone else besides his brother yet (which was another reason why he couldn’t help but laugh about the younger’s treat about his ‘friends’), and this man seemed to be a little bit to old to be friends with Changmin. Deciding that it wasn’t his business at all, Yunho kept walking towards them, planning to just quietly pass by them.

However, a desperate sounding voice hold him back.

“Hyung!” Changmin’s voice called him as their eyes met briefly.

Surprised Yunho stared at the younger. Changmin had never called him hyung before, the latter even tried to avoid saying Yunho’s name in general. They weren’t comfortable enough with each other at all to be in a hyung-dongsaeng-relationship. Or at least Changmin wasn’t.

Yunho’s eyes narrowed as Changmin’s gaze flickered from him to the stranger in front of him and back to Yunho again. The whole body of the tall boy seemed to be tensed, and his facial expression looked very conflicted as well.

Something was wrong.

Yunho speeded up his steps and quickly approached the two men. “Changmin! What’s up?” he asked casually while trying to get a look at the stranger’s face.

Said man was obviously pissed off because of Yunho’s sudden appearance. He had a big scowl on his face and looked at the brunet as if he was some bothersome insect. The man was about as tall as Yunho and had thick, dark hair. Something about his stern eyes and his arrogant posture made Yunho dislike him a lot. A quick glance at Changmin’s face told him that the younger thought just the same.

“So Min,” Yunho said, ignoring the surprised look of said man because of the nickname. “Who’s your friend here?”

Crossing his arms over his chest Changmin scoffed. “He’s a lot but definitely not my friend.” Both of them talked as if the stranger wasn’t present at all. “He want’s to talk to Jaejoong, but I don’t think my brother wants to see him. Unfortunately this guy had never known the word ‘no’ very well!” Gritting his teeth Changmin seemed to remember something very unpleasant.

Yunho raised one eyebrow and looked at the stranger. “Well, if that’s how it is, I would like you, Sir, to leave this house. Min knows his brother very well, and if he thinks Jaejoong doesn’t want to see you, than you have to accept that.”

Laughing shortly, the stranger shook his head. “I don’t know who you are, but I don’t care anyways. I’m going to talk to Jaejoong now, no matter what you or that insolent brat here says.”

With these words he tried to push both of them aside and headed towards the apartment of the Kim’s.    

Yunho let the bags fall on the floor and reached for the wrist of the man. “It seems as if you didn’t really understand what I said. You are not going to talk to Jaejoong. Please leave now!”

Thanks to years of training hapkido, Yunho saw the punch early enough to react. He pulled at the wrist he was still holding and twisted the other’s arm effortlessly before pushing him away on the hard floor. With a shriek the stranger kneeled down, holding onto his arm in pain.

Yunho looked at the whimpering man with a blank face. “I won’t say it again. Leave. Now!”

Cursing angrily because of the pain and the humiliation, the man quickly stood up and stumbled away.

Still angry, Yunho turned around to face Changmin, who stared at him with his mouth hanging wide open. “I really hope that this wasn’t just some good friend of Jaejoong who you happen to dislike. On the other hand… he didn’t look like the kind of guy Jaejoong would hang out with.”

Changmin shook his head. “No, believe me, this guy shouldn’t even be allowed to live on the same continent as Hero.”

Yunho raised his eyebrow. “Hero?”

The other male grinned. “It’s my brother’s nickname. Because how he handles everything is… well, hero-like.”

Yunho returned the smile, still surprised about the sudden change of Changmin’s behavior. “Well, that’s definitely true. So… how about you come with me for a second and explain me what exactly just happened? I need to save those groceries, but I’m dying to know who I just kicked out.”

After a few seconds of hesitation, the younger slowly nodded. “Sure Yunho, why not.”

Sighing, Yunho grabbed the three bags again, and shoved one of them in Changmin’s arms before walking towards his mother’s apartment. “I thought we had just reached the hyung-dongsaeng level.”

“Oh please.” Changmin scoffed. “It won’t be that easy!”

The two men sat in the small kitchen of Yunho’s mother, both with some hot chocolate in their hands, since it was ridiculous cold outside. It really was one of the coldest January for years.

Yunho stared at the brown liquid, silently cursing the stranger he had chased away half an hour ago. Changmin had told him the whole story, and although Yunho had decided to wait until Jaejoong tells him about his past, he was glad that he now knew why Changmin had such a hard time trusting him.

Jaejoong and ‘the ’ (Changmin didn’t want to say his name and the nickname was quite suitable) had met almost six years ago. It had been a coincidence, just like the meeting of Yunho and the older. Apparently ‘the ’ had been very charming and friendly, but something about the way he talked made Jaejoong dislike him. However, the other hadn’t accept the ‘no’ as an answer and had kept following Jaejoong around for almost a week. Since Jaejoong couldn’t defend himself as easily as a ‘normal’ person, the whole family had been worried as hell. Especially Changmin, who had been fifteen at that time and angry at himself because he couldn’t protect his older brother like he wished he could.

One day the situation escalated. Jaejoong had visited a friend and was on his way home, as ‘the ’ stopped him and cornered him in an empty sideway. It had been almost impossible for Jaejoong to defend himself, since he couldn’t see his assaulter and according to Changmin, the red-head had been even thinner back then. If Cassie hadn’t realized that something was wrong and hadn’t attacked ‘the ’, everything could have happened. No one knew what exactly the man had intended to do, but no one really wanted to know anyways. It just had been a miracle that Cassie had acted that way, since it was her first year with Jaejoong and normally guide dogs were trained to be always even-tempered and friendly towards humans.

It had taken some time until Jaejoong dared to leave the apartment again after the incident. But the older had always been the kind of guy who just sees the best in every human, so he had never felt hatred against humans in general. Changmin however had still obvious problems to trust anybody who tried to get closer to Jaejoong.

Yunho looked up and met the questioning gaze of Changmin. Taking a deep breath he sat up straight and said seriously: “I know it will be difficult to earn your trust Changmin, but even you should have noticed by now, that I never could hurt Jaejoong in any way. I really like your brother, and I admit that I want to be more than a friend to him–“ He could see Changmin tensing up. “– but I will accept everything Jaejoong says, even if it means that we’ll be never anything else but friends. But I’ll never have a chance if you continue spreading dislike against me, because your brother loves you too much to be together with someone you hate. So please, give me a chance.”

Changmin bit his lower lip and avoided the pleading look of Yunho’s eyes. Then he sighed and drank the last sip of his chocolate before slowly standing up. “I just really want him to be happy. And although I don’t know why, he seems to like you as well. So…” the tall male gave Yunho a last calculating look before he shrugged with his shoulders. “Tomorrow is my brother’s birthday. Have fun, hyung.”

Without looking at Yunho again Changmin quickly left the apartment.

Yunho could feel how a wide grin stretched his lips. He finally had convinced Changmin that he wouldn’t harm Jaejoong in any way, and he knew quite surely that the latter liked him as well.

So maybe it was time to fulfill the wish of his mother.

****

He had never been so nervous in his whole life. For at least ten minutes Yunho had stared at the closed door in front of him, trying to convince himself that the worst thing what could happen was, that Jaejoong didn’t want to go on a date with him. Nothing else.

But since Yunho desperately wanted to go on a date with the older, this possibility already seemed like a medium apocalypse.

Shaking his head to get rid of all the useless thoughts inside his mind, Yunho finally lifted his hand and rang the bell of the apartment. He could hear the excited barking of Cassie, and Jaejoong’s amused voice telling her to shut up. A mere second later the door opened and Yunho found himself once again staring dumbly at the older’s beautiful face. Therefore he kind of missed the moment he was supposed to greet the other, but Jaejoong didn’t seem to realize it.

“Yunho! How are you? Cassie just asked for you, she thinks she’ll get more unhealthy sweet stuff if you’re around.”

Yunho smiled. So maybe he tried to bond with the cute guide dog through spoiling her. It wasn’t a crime, was it?

He slowly entered the apartment and took his shoes of. Then he suddenly realized the fact, that Jaejoong had recognized him, although Yunho hadn’t said a single word.

“Hey Jaejoong?” he asked hesitantly, since he really didn’t want to hurt the other’s feelings with dumb questions.

Jaejoong hummed, looking at some spot over Yunho’s head. But the latter knew that he had Jaejoong’s full attention.

“How did you recognize me? On the door, I mean… I didn’t say anything, and…”

Jaejoong laughed. “Well, first of all I know your smell, so it wasn’t that hard to guess who had the nerve to visit me or my family at this late hour. Besides this…” Jaejoong turned around to walk towards the living room, moving with an impressing confidence. Just now and then he tipped with his fingertips on the edge of a wall or a piece of furniture. He sat down on a comfortable couch, signing with one hand to no one specifically to sit down. Curious about the second reason, Yunho followed the invitation.

“How should I say this…” Jaejoong said, a knowing smile on his lips. “Your breath catches every time we see each other. It’s just for a really short moment, and you can cover it quite good… but I noticed it nevertheless.”

Yunho felt like dying out of embarrassment as he hided his face inside his hands (which was completely unnecessary since Jaejoong couldn’t see his red cheeks anyways). But hey, the fact that Jaejoong took it with humor meant, that he at least had a chance, right? And Changmin did say that his brother liked Yunho as well. The younger wouldn’t lie to him, right? Right?

“So… err… Jaejoong, could I ask you something?” Yunho asked slowly, not knowing how to formulate his question. He had been in relationships before, he had asked more than a few people out, but he had never been so nervous before.

“Sure. Whatever you want.” the older answered, smiling softly while drawing invisible patterns on the small glass table in front of him.

“If… if I want to ask someone out for a date, where should we go? Do you know a good restaurant here in the village?”

Jaejoong stopped his work of art and bit his lower lip, while Yunho cursed his own cowardice.

“Well… I do know a very good Italian restaurant. They make awesome pasta.” Jaejoong said slowly.

Perfect! Yunho thought happily and cleared his throat. “So, if I would ask you if you want to go with me to this awesome Italian restaurant I happen to know, would you come with me? As a birthday present?”

Jaejoong laughed, but Yunho didn’t miss the light blush on his cheeks. So he wasn’t the only one who was nervous.

“Do they sell pasta?” he asked with a mischievous grin on his face.

Yunho returned the grin. “The best pasta I’ve ever eaten!”

“Then I’ll probably say yes.”

“Thank you for convincing the owner that Cassie can enter the restaurant as well.” Jaejoong said and shot a wide smile at Yunho. The younger returned the smile before guiding Jaejoong towards their seats. The restaurant was quite empty since it was already half past four – most people already ate or ate a little bit later. But the red-head had wanted to eat at this time since he liked the calm atmosphere of less customers.

After Yunho had finally had the guts to ask the older out, everything had worked out easily. It seemed as if Jaejoong had only waited for him to speak up, since he immediately suggest eating at his favorite place. He liked the food there and already knew the menu, so they didn’t have to get rid of the awkward moment when Yunho has to read out everything since Jaejoong can’t read it.

Like always when they were together, the conversation was fluent and without any awkward pauses.  

Jaejoong was still laughing in his extraordinary way about an backstage incident Yunho had told him about (in strict confidence of course) as a young waitress approached their table.

“Hey Hero, how are you today? Since when did you have so handsome friends, and why do you hide them from me?” she asked in a cheery voice, flashing a wide smile at both men.

“Hey Minji.” Jaejoong greeted the waitress back, smiling happily. “I’m great, thank you. My friend here is Yunho, and the reason why you didn’t get to see him until now is, that he’s already reserved.”

Yunho raised an eyebrow in surprise, but was too busy to laugh about Minji’s exaggerated sigh to ask any questions.

“This harsh world…” the waitress murmured before pulling out a pen to write down their order. “The usual, Hero?”

Jaejoong nodded. “Yeah, one chicken pasta please. Extra spicy.”

Minji nodded and turned to Yunho. “And you?”

Yunho smiled and gestured towards the older. “The same please.”

The waitress scoffed. “Boooring.” she muttered, but the smile on her face proved that Yunho didn’t need to take her words seriously.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes, so don’t do anything inappropriate, okay guys?” She winked at Yunho and then turned back towards Jaejoong. “And happy birthday, old man!”

She quickly collected the menus and walked towards the small door which let to the kitchen.

“She’s… special.” Yunho chuckled.

“Yes she is.” Jaejoong nodded and smiled. “Normally she isn’t so confident around strangers, so she must like you already. That’s important, because she’s one of my best friends, although she’s pretty much the queen of mood swings.”

“I see…” Yunho grinned and took a sip of the water another waitress had brought them beforehand.

“So when do you have to go back to Seoul?” Jaejoong asked, bringing up a topic Yunho tried not to think about.

“In two weeks and… five days I think. How long I stay there though, depends.”

“Depends on what?”

“Well, I could just finish the one choreography I’m working at right now and concentrate on songwriting only after that. There are a few trainees who we plan to let debut in a few months, and they still need some good songs. And… I can write songs better without the stress and hectic of the capital.”

Yunho watched the other expectantly. He didn’t knew how much Jaejoong wanted him to stay – or if the latter even wanted him to stay at all. What he did know though, was that he was willing to give up on his apartment in Seoul and temporary stay at his mother’s apartment to be near the older. Although he knew Jaejoong for only two weeks, the latter was all he was thinking of. So why should he not try everything he could to be with the man he liked so much?

“Are there any other choreographer at your company?” Jaejoong asked after a short break.

“Well, yes, there are some young talents we recently hired.” Yunho answered, not really sure what to make of this questions.

Jaejoong smiled and tilted his head a little bit. “They would be happy to have the chance to prove themselves when you’re away for… a little bit longer, don’t you think?”

Yunho grinned brightly. “Yeah… I think you’re right.” he said happily. 

“Good.” Jaejoong said in a satisfied tone. “I can smell our food, so Minji will be here in a minute. Your ready for some pasta?”

Yunho smiled at the exited grin of the older. “Definitely. I love pasta with chicken.” he answered.

“Oh no.” Jaejoong laughed. “Don’t image you’re getting even the slightest bit of chicken today. This lady­­–“ he pointed at Cassie “won’t give you any chance to even look at your chicken twice.”

Yunho scoffed. “Well, she’ll have a hard time then, because I love chicken. And although I love Cassie as well, there are borders a man can’t cross.”

Jaejoong laughed loudly. “Then it’s war, believe me.”

Yunho shrugged. “So it is.”

“Here you go, guys.” Minji said as she placed the plates in front of both men. “It’s delicious, so enjoy it. By the way–“ she looked at them with a curious look. “Since when are you two together? Honestly said I’m a bit disappointed that Hero didn’t even mentioned you.” She looked at Yunho as if it was his fault.

The brunet looked a little bit helpless at Jaejoong. Were they officially together? Was Jaejoong his boyfriend? He had accepted to change his work schedule so he could stay at the village, but they never exactly… confessed to each other.”

“Well, since this is our first real date…” Jaejoong said slowly, “I would say we’re together since today.”

Minji squealed. “So I am part of the birth of your relationship? That’s so awesome! It’s like today isn’t just your birthday, but the birthday of your relationship as well!”

Jaejoong smiled and nodded, while Yunho was watching him silently. During the short talk he had felt happier then ever before. Jaejoong wanted them to be together, this special, admirable person wanted to be his boyfriend.

He slowly reach for Jaejoong’s hand. The latter winced at the sudden contact, but immediately wrapped his fingers around Yunho’s hand. Staring at the older’s face, Yunho felt that no matter if he was living in Seoul or in this small village, he would always be at home with Jaejoong at his side. And although Jaejoong couldn’t return his look, both of them knew that he was looking directly at Yunho, in his way. Somehow the younger believed that Jaejoong was the one person who could see him the clearest without even using his eyes.

Giving their entwined fingers a light press, Yunho smiled happily at the man in front of him. There was nothing to say to make this situation even more perfect, nothing except:

“Happy Birthday.”

언니, 사랑해~