Without Your Glasses

♪ Listen to (You and I by Park Bom): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxYJcaK3DFQ ♫

______’s POV:

One night I was sleeping peacefully on Jaejoong’s bed until…

“EEEEEKKKK!!”

“W-What happened?” I asked as I shot up from the bed. My glasses were perched on the side table but I didn’t need them right now. Was there a robber in the house? Jaejoong was out of his couch, no where to be found. I tip toed over to my closet and pulled out my metal baseball bat that Donghae had given me for Christmas.

I opened the door and looked down the hall…

…To find Jaejoong with a scared expression, staring at the ground in fear. I the hall lights.

“Jaejoong, what are you doing?” I asked, putting my bat down.

“SHH!” he pointed to the ground. Sitting mindlessly on the floor was a cricket.

“Jaejoong, it’s just a cricket,” I stated. I picked it up in my hands and shoved it in his face.

“EEEEKKK!” Jaejoong screeched.

“HA! So Kim Jaejoong’s afraid of crickets!” I said, happy that I have some new dirt on him.

Jaejoong’s eyes narrowed down on me and he looked at me from head to toe. My hair was out from the original ponytail, long and black and my glasses were off.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“What are you talking about?” I questioned.

“______?”

“Who else would it be?”

He leaned in and touched a lock of my hair which made me flinch and he stared straight into my eyes. They seemed to look blue in the moonlight, not brown, and very hypnotic. Then… he leaned in…closer…and closer…

“Jaejoong, what are you doing?!” I cried.

“Smells like ______...” he murmured. “WHOA, you don’t believe how different you look without glasses and that ponytail! I seriously didn’t recognize you!”

*She looks…prettier this way…*

The cricket was still in my hand. “Jaejoong, are you sick? Of course, it’s me. I should be the one asking you WHY THE HELL ARE YOU OUT THIS LATE?”

“I was thirsty and my back started aching so I went out to get some water. Until…I found a cricket on the floor…”

“What, you’re afraid of crickets?” I asked, sticking my hand in his face.

“Get it away from me!” he whined.

I started laughing. “I’m tired; I’m going back to bed.” I stated, dropping the cricket back onto the floor and out of my hand.

Jaejoong was going to follow until he started sniffing and coughing. “*Cough* *Sniff* Hm…must be flu season…hope I don’t get sick.”

Jaejoong’s POV:

That night I couldn’t stop thinking about her; my wife. There, I said it, my wife. Without glasses she looks so…different…and strangely, in a good way. I was so sleepless that night with the image of pretty _______ in my head, I didn’t notice my body temperature rising and the night getting longer. I started to cough more often and the sheets suddenly felt really cold.

The next morning I heard the sink water running which woke me up instantly.

*she must be up already…*

I tried to get out of my bed but my body was so tired…I could barely move. I felt so dizzy and the need to sleep more. The bathroom door in my room opened and ______ came out dressed in her uniform…and her glasses and ponytail.

*gosh, she really needs to stop that*

♪ Listen to (Best Place by SHINee): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH4N7C66KoA ♫

“Jaejoong, get up, it’s time for school dummy,” she said.

“I…I…don’t feel good…” I slurred.

She looked at me and placed her cold hand on my overly warm forehead.

“Jaejoong, you have a fever,” she stated.

I didn’t reply and got back under the blanket.

Seconds later ______ came running in with a thermometer and some liquid medicine with a glass of water with a paper cup of cheerios.

“Jaejoong, sit up,” she ordered.

“No…I’m tired…I want to sleep…” I said stubbornly.

“Jaejoong, I’m serious, let me check your temperature,” she said firmly.

I didn’t want to keep hearing her loud voice when what I really wanted was some sleep. As I got up my head felt like it was spinning as I struggled to keep my back on the couch.

“Ah~”

I opened my mouth and let the thermometer in. After a few seconds ______ pulled it out and looked at it. “Hm…101 degrees Fahrenheit…” she murmured. “I guess you’re staying home today.”

I already knew that. I was obviously not going to school in this condition. ______ then turned over to the bottle of medicine…which I absolutely HATED. She poured the medicine into a small plastic cup and gave it to me along with the glass of water.

“Down the medicine and then the water,” she commanded.

“HELL NO! I hate that ty stuff!” I cried.

“Do you want to be sick all day?”

“Yes.”

“Well I don’t want to get sick so you HAVE TO DOWN THIS. Hurry up, my arms are getting tired and I’ll be late.”

“No.”

“HURRY UP!” she demanded. “Look, after you down the medicine just pop a few cheerios in your mouth and the taste will be gone.”

I sighed. “FINE!” I took the cup of medicine and water and downed it quickly along with the cheerios afterwards.

*hm…that wasn’t so bad…*

“Just sleep until I get home,” she ordered as she grabbed her bag from the bed and headed out the door.

“Wait.” I stopped.

“What?” she asked.

“Why are you doing this? Taking care of me?” I asked wearily.

“Isn’t it obvious? I don’t want to get sick either. Did that little incident last night made you lose even more brain cells?” and with that, she closed the door behind her.

“Huh…not the exact answer I was looking for…” I mumbled to myself.

______’s POV:

It was when I got out of the mansion was when it occurred to me that I didn’t have a ride to school. I couldn’t go back there and ask Jaejoong since he’d kill me for getting him out of bed and plus, he was strangely sick all of a sudden.

I started the long walk to school. Hopefully, I would make it in time before the bell rings. As I started walking a sleek white convertible pulled up beside me. I turned to look at the driver and realized that it was none other…

…Than Hyun Joong.

“Do you need a ride?” he asked gently.

“It’s ok, I can walk,” I replied.

“C’mon. Seoul High’s more then 2 neighborhoods away.” he opened the door. “I insist.”

I hesitated for a little bit since this is my only second time talking to this stranger but then again I didn’t even want to think of walking about 2 miles to school. Getting into the leather seat, I watched as Hyun Joong smoothly drove pass Jaejoong’s neighborhood and onward to Seoul High.

“Will I get pummeled by your fan girls?” I asked.

“Nah…I don’t have any actually,” he replied.

“Really? But you’re Jaejoong’s friend, aren’t you?” I questioned.

“Kind of…we lost contact after I quit the basketball team so I don’t know so much about us anymore. Why do you ask about him?”

“No reason…”

Hyun Joong’s convertible pulled up into the school parking lot and he walked me to class. So far at Seoul High, I never got chances or opportunities to make any real friends so I was glad that he was by my side for the moment. Jennifer gave me dirty looks during passing period today but I didn’t really mind her at all.

Throughout the whole day Jaejoong always had a way of popping into my mind.

“Was he alright?”

“Why was he sick all of a sudden?”

“Did he faint?”

“Could he take care of himself? He had a hard time this morning…”

Questions like these popped into my mind throughout the whole day. After school Hyun Joong offered me a ride home and I accepted gratefully.

“Thanks for giving me a ride Hyun Joong, you’re really nice,” I said.

“No problem.”

“You’re not just doing this because of sympathy, right?” I asked.

“What? Hell no. Jaejoong called me this morning and told me that you needed a ride. I know about your whole marriage,” Hyun Joong replied.

“You know?” I questioned. “When? I thought the media wasn’t supposed to know yet.”

“I saw the article on the net the other day and asked him about it. By the way, don’t tell him that I told you that he called me to get you or else he’ll be beyond pissed,” Hyun Joong advised.

I nodded and got out of his car. “See you tomorrow.” I skipped over to the front door, anticipating what happened to the almighty Kim Jaejoong. When the maid opened the door I threw my bag onto the couch and sprinted upstairs.

♪ Listen to (You Always by DBSK): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zt1-eCfBr-g ♫

Pressing my ear onto the door, I checked to see if Jaejoong was sleeping or not. Not a sound was coming from his room. I opened the door with a slight creak and looked inside to find Jaejoong sleeping soundlessly on…

The bed.

“That jerk, takes advantage of the fact that I’m gone…” I murmured.

Tip toeing over to the bed I looked at his sleeping self. The covers were pulled up to his chest, revealing his arms on the sides. Apart from his figure while sleeping, his face looked extremely mesmerizing. Not only did his eyes glisten in the sunlight or his lips seemed like they shine on their own, but his eyes looked calm and relaxed…very different from the Kim Jaejoong that I knew. The scared Jaejoong, the peaceful sleeping Jaejoong…I’d argue with those Jaejoongs any day then jerk Jaejoong.

Carefully putting away my long gaze from his face, I made my way to the door to get my bag to start on some reading.

Suddenly…

“What the…AH! OOF!”

I don’t know how it happened but I TRIPPED. Have you ever tripped on your own foot before? I have and Jaejoong’s reaction to it was not too good. I tripped and my body landed right on top of his. We were like a ‘T’ sort off. Him on the bed and me on top of him. My glasses landed with a thud on the carpet floor. His eyelids opened and his gaze went from the ceiling…to me.

“Oh my gawd…” he mumbled.

I quickly got up. “Sorry! I just tripped! I didn’t mean to wake you!” I apologized.

Jaejoong quickly sat up and looked at me. “______, can I ask you a question?”

I nodded.

“Do you know how different you look when you take off your glasses?”

I thought about it. “I don’t know. I don’t necessarily look at myself.”

Jaejoong got out of bed and picked up my glasses from the floor. He put them on me and took them off. Put them on me and took them off. Over and over again.

“Jaejoong, what are you doing?” I asked, annoyed.

“That’s interesting…,” he murmured.

“Did you take your second does of medicine?” I changed the subject.

“Uh huh…,” he mumbled.

Jaejoong’s POV:

I couldn’t believe it.

I couldn’t process the fact that ______ looked COMPLETELY different with glasses. Another thing I wonder is that how come I’ve recovered from my cold so quickly? In a matter of hours my fever’s gone down by so much. Could it be possible that it was because ______ was treating me?

Naw…

POSTED: August 25, 2010 10:43 AM