Chapter XXII:

The Outcome

Somewhere in Nagoya, Japan

The morning’s sunlight leaked in through the heavy drapes, smearing itself across the recording room and upon the face of a sleeping man. The warmth awoke him. He forced an eye open and groaned as he was welcomed by the beaming brightness. Fighting the urge to sleep again, the guy peeled his cheek from the table top but remained dazing over the stacks of papers and foils cluttered in front of him.

Gingerly, Jaejoong stretched out a hand and beheld the sunlight. “It’s morning already?” He yawned, glancing over the wall clock beside him- It was 8:25 am. He rested his head against the back of the leather swivel chair, realizing that again, he drowned himself with work and failed to go back to the hotel; a better and comfortable place to rest.

Even before he could regress himself from drowsiness, thundering footsteps issued from behind the door. He frowned upon the sound, knowing the only person who can be a nuisance early in the morning is on his way to pester him.

The door shoved open- no knocks, permission and whatnots; and revealed a grinning man.

“Good morning Hyung!” He squealed and bombarded the serenity of the room with his infamous dorky laugh. “Ue Kyang kyang!”

Jaejoong rolled his eyes at the guy and sighed. “What do you want Junsu?”

“I came to cheer you up!” Junsu flashed him a smile, slumping his self into a sofa. “And I miss you! You’ve been busy with your solo album that you lock yourself up here for two days,” He added. Sulking and pouting at his Hyung, who was unconvinced with the sincerity of what he was saying.

Jaejoong crossed his arms and legs as he gave the younger a critical look; he knew there was something else this guy has to tell. “And…” Junsu fidgeted in his seat, still pouting. He could have sworn the maknae looked like ‘Puss’ only that he wore slippers and not boots.  “I need to borrow your laptop, Hyung.” And there it is; the real reason of his ‘support’.  “I left mine in Korea, so lend me yours, Hyung. Juseyo?” The guy pleaded.

“Cheer up my .” He grunted, and jerked his head at the other desk across the room where he placed his Mac.  Junsu’s face lit up and immediately went toward the said desk and maneuvered the laptop as if it was his own.

‘What a nuisance.’ The older hissed, turning to the scattered pieces of music sheets over his desk. One by one, he picked the papers and piled them neatly in one side. When all things are now organized, he started busying himself with compositions and arrangements of his songs.

“Aren’t you going to eat breakfast?” Junsu asked but eyes focused on the laptop’s screen.

“I’ll eat later.” He responded while hitting simultaneous notes from the keyboard of the electric piano. Junsu was to say something but caught up with the latest article from a paparazzi website. He gasped loudly that snapped the other guy from what he was doing. He turned and saw his friend, shaking his head in disappointment; as if what he saw was something amusing yet unpleasant at the same time.

Jaejoong then asked him what the matter was. Junsu turned the laptop and its screen now faced at him. He did not bother reading the headline since the picture posted with it, was enough for him to realize that it was just another scandal of some celebrity. 

He glanced away and returned his attention to keyboard. “You should not bother yourself with that kind of stuff,” He said, uninterested with the news. The photo was clearly legit and he is certain it was not photoshopped. ‘How reckless of him to be caught red-handed’ He thought.

“I know, but this is interesting. Donghae –ssi is caught in another scandal. If I am not mistaken, he was the center of all news weeks ago, because of a murder case.” Junsu informed him, but the latter did not respond so he continued reading the article out loud.

Annoyed by the boggling noise of his voice, Jaejoong tried telling the maknae to stop and just read it silently. But it seemed a failure, since he was too drowned with interest over the article and continued with the loud reading. Jaejoong grabbed a paper and crumpled it into a ball.  As soon as he was to throw it, a certain excerpt from the article made him froze on his spot.

“What did you say?” He asked, hoping what he had heard was wrong.

*****

Meanwhile in Seoul, Korea

Dara was caught in the middle of a traffic jam and the blinding brightness of the sun added to her irritation. She impatiently tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, waiting for the stoplight to flash green. Tossing the locks of her blonde hair, Dara heaved a long sigh and remorse over the fact that she should’ve force herself into sleeping early to avoid troubles such as this. She was running late for an important meeting and the traffic was holding her long enough, thinning her patience.

There was no one else she could blame but herself for not getting over the night before. If only banging her head against a wall can do the trick, she would’ve done it - But no. There was no way for her to forget about Donghae.

‘Stop acting like a love struck High Schooler just because of that petty kiss!’ She hissed, convincing herself that having that kind of feeling was just a result of not being kissed for e very long time; a passionate one, to be exact. 

She decided to open the ra