Mirrors are said to reflect a person, to display whatever that is within. I find the concept ridiculous. A mirror cannot show how beautiful you are. It cannot show the essence of your soul. How can the mirror then claim that the reflection is the exact replica of you? How can the reflection be you when it is without a soul? How can the mirror capture something that is unseen? It is absurd and the logic is flawed. Yet the sales of mirrors continue to skyrocket; people never noticing the senselessness of it all.

It is the mirror that I see every morning, the same image that greets me as a new day begins. I hate that face. My eyebrows are too hairy. My eyes are too small. My cheeks are huge with excess fats I can never seem to rid off. The skin on my face is rough with pimples marring it like huge volcanoes exploding on the surface of Earth. Everything I see in the mirror, I hate it. My reflection is my weakness and my strength is hidden behind a mask of pretense. The water slides off my face in one smooth fluid motion and a tiny puff of breath escapes my lips. The tap water is still running but my face is void of expression. My eyebrows are furrowed and my eyes are squinted as the image in the mirror shrinks. My reflection haunts me. No matter where I go, it follows. I will never be rid of it.

"Jaejoongie, what are you thinking again?" 

Your voice travels through the air and reaches my ears, a sweet deep timber that pleases me and sends chills down my spine. My heart starts racing and sweat drips down my brow. Soon, in a matter of seconds, you will reach me and I know, you will sense my discomfort and question it. I will not say a word though. The issue with my reflection has always been a secret of mine. It is buried within the deepest depths of my heart. No amount of courage and strength will bring it out of me. It is a burden I am meant to carry alone and I will gladly bear it till the end of my life. 

You will not know. You shall not know. My reflection is a secret and a secret it shall stay. I shudder to think how you will react once you learn of this. Will you love me as I am or will you hate the reflection you see in the mirror everyday? Will you see the reflection as Kim Jaejoong or will you see the soul within the shell and recognise it as me? Will you be disgusted by the reflection outside that you fail to see what is beneath? Will you fear me as many others did? Will you tuck your tail in between your legs and run from me?

"I see nothing, Jaejoongie," you whispered into my ears as I felt you enveloped your arms around me, "I see nothing but the heart of the man that loves me."

Your heartbeats resonate around us and I can feel it pulsating regularly. It did not increase with the speech you made nor did it decrease. That should be a sign that you are speaking the truth but even so, I simply cannot bring myself to believe you. How can you not see the edged scars on my face and the dreaded pimples that cover every surface of my smooth skin? You tell me you love me but how can it be when I cannot even find anything in me to love me?

A tear slides down my cheek and I brush it away feebly. I could continue spinning lies about the difference between the reflection in the mirror and me but I know, I am just lying to myself like the countless times I did before. In truth, it is not the reflection that I hate but me.

I hate me, but I hate myself even more for tricking you into falling in love with me. 

Still, you cared not for what I am feeling inside. You merely brushed the incoming tears away with the tip of your fingers and rested your head against my shoulders. I am the trembling figure in your arms, yet you seem to lean more on me for support than I do. I must have looked up to you in puzzlement for that was when I heard you say, "For every time you insult the reflection in the mirror, Jaejoongie, you hurt me. For the top most important thing this mirror reflects in you is me."

And suddenly, with that statement, it is no longer one that is crying whilst hugging but two. I feel your tears moistening the back of my shirt as your arms around me tighten. The wetness of your cheeks against my back astounds me and the tears that fall on my skin stuns me. You never did like to cry but for me, you did it. You allowed yourself a moment of weakness that was shown exclusively for me. You shed all your lines of defences just for me alone. In that instant, as I looked up into the mirror, the smile that I wore was genuine as I appreciated the image before me; the reflection of you holding me...

"Inside of me, you are there."

The smile on my face widened as you whispered that in my ears once more, the image I once abhorred now transformed into an epitome of love.

The End.

Author's Note: Short drabble written. Hope you enjoyed it~ Happy belated birthday to uri Jaejoongie~