Chapter ten - "My Yunnie is not a monster."

"What are you doing under your desk?" The seven years old Yunho asked, crouching next to his matched partner who was lying on the floor under his desk in his classroom, with his knitting cardigan on his face.

"Nothing." A six years old Jaejoong answered.

"Joongie?"

"I don't want to talk about anything." The younger boy said with a pout, turning to the other side.

Jaejoongie was angry. And he wanted to stay angry until the end of the day. Because he had the right to feel angry with the whole world right now.

Yunho sighed. He sat on the floor and looked at the back of his Joongie in front of him. The older boy rubbed gentle circles on his matched partner's back to soothe his anger away. He could do nothing, only waiting that his Joongie calms down a bit with his frantic habit of hiding underneath the tables when something disturbed him.

Changmin who was Jaejoong's classmate ran to him to inform him that his matched partner had a fight with a few boys at the end of their last hour of classes. And Yunho knew what was the topic of their discord.

Him.

Every time Jaejoong was caught in a fight since they entered elementary school, it was always because of him. His Joongie didn't like to hear others calling him monster or badmouthing him.

"Let them say whatever they want." Yunho tried to pull away the cardigan from Jaejoong's visage, knowing that the boy was hiding something from him.

"I can't." Jaejoongie said angrily, trying to keep his cardigan on his face.

"They won't hurt me with their bad words." Yunho succeeded to take away the cardigan.

"You won't but I can be hurt." The younger boy added, turning his eyes to look at his matched partner with a pout and crawled toward his Yunnie. "They said bad things about you. They don't know who you are. They can't say anything when they don't know anything."

"Joongie..." Yunho widened his eyes at the sight of the bruise on his Joongie's left cheek. "Who did that to you?" He asked sternly.

"Oops..." Jaejoongie said, putting his hand on his left cheekbone trying to hide his bruise. But it was too late. His Yunnie saw it. He knew the older boy would want to retaliate the boy who did that to him.

"Who did that to you?"

"It's nothing."

"Nothing?!" Yunho said angrily, moving Jaejoong's hand away from his cheek. "They hurt you. And you defended them?!"

"It's my reward as a fighter." Jaejoong said holding his fists in the air. "Joongie is a big boy now. I can fight with anyone who is bad."

"Big boy or not. Joongie is still a baby. And I promised grandpa Min-Soo and pappy Hyun-Jun that I will protect you when we're at school."

"Joongie is not a baby." The boy whined.

"You are."

"No!" Jaejoong lifted himself and sat across his matched partner, looking at his Yunnie with a pout. "Joongie is a big boy now."

"If you are a big boy, you won't feel pain when I do this." Yunho said, touching the bruise on Jaejoong's left cheek.

"Yunnie!! It hurts! Don't touch it." Jaejoong whined, trying to jerk away his matched partner's hand.

"Okay. I won't touch it." Yunho removed his hand. "See, you're still a baby." The older boy wiped the tears that streamed down on his Joongie's cheeks.

"But..."

"No but, Joongie. You want me to keep my promise with grandpa and pappy, right?"

"Yes." Jaejoong nodded his head slightly.

Yunho sighed and smiled at his matched partner. He didn't like to see his Joongie sad. So, he changed the topic of their discussion to something else.

"Joongie, I'm a little tired."

"Sorry." The little Jaejoong pressed his lips on his Yunnie's lips for their ritual butterfly kiss. "You feel better now?"

"One more."

"Okay."

For a while, the two little boys pressed their lips together for their butterfly kisses. While the two other couples of matched partners were waiting for the two boys in the corridor. The four children were accustomed to see the two boys kiss next to them.

Yoochun and Gyu-Ri as Changmin and Min-Jeong weren't like the other children. They accepted those two boys to be matched up for the rest of their lives. They weren't the one who chose with who they ended up until the end of their lifetime. So, the four children won't say anything about them being together. But, there were some children who found it strange to have two boys as matched partners.

However, those children were too young to understand or to comprehend why it was inappropriate to have same matched partners. So, their hostility toward the two boys was only the reflection of their parents' opinion.

"Hey? You two? Can we go home now?" asked Yoochun, peeking the two boys from the classroom's door.

"Yeah." Yunho answered, helping his Joongie up.

The older boy held Jaejoong's small backpack in his right hand and reached out his other hand to his matched partner. The younger boy took his Yunnie's hand in his and followed his matched partner with his knitting cardigan enfolded under his arm.

The six children left the elementary school while chatting about their day. It was a quiet day until Jaejoongie fought with one of his classmate for his Yunnie's honor.

"Oh god!" Won-Bin shrieked, seeing the bruise on his son's cheek, gaining the attention of all the mothers and nannies who were waiting at the front gate of the elementary school next to him.

"Oh... oh..." Jaejoongie muttered.

"You said it right..." Yunho smiled weakly at the young father who looked hurt at the view of his Joongie's bruise.

"What happened baby Joongie?" Won-Bin steeped down in front of the two boys. He cupped his son's face between his hands and grimaced.

"I... I..."

"It's my fault. Sorry." Yunho said, bowing his head slowly.

Won-Bin sighed. He ruffled Yunho's hair gently. "You're not at fault. None of you is at fault. Okay?"

The two boys nodded.

"Mama won't like it..." Jaejoongie said slowly.

"Aunty will be very angry." Yunho added.

"Don't worry you two!" Won-Bin stated. "She will be comprehensive. So, let go home! Okay?"

"Bye Min-Min. Bye Minnie." Joongie waved at his friends.

"See you tomorrow." Jeong-Min waved back at her best friend with Changmin at her side. The two matched partners walked away with the little boy's mother who was the one taking care of them.

"Yunho! See you tomorrow." Yoochun said, waving his hands frenetically at the two boys.

"Yeah." Yunho waved back to his good friend.

Yunho wasn't the kind of boy who could be friend with everyone like his Joongie. But, he managed to talk with all his classmates with time. Even though most of them didn't have a good opinion of him. They called him monster because he was a mixed blood.

And Yoochun was the first friend he made since they entered the nursery. So, the other boy and his matched partner Gyu-Ri had a special place in his heart. While Changmin and his matched partner Min-Jeong were Jaejoong's best friends.

"Bye!" His matched partner said quietly to the two boys with a smile.

Then the two children followed Yoochun's nanny, a young foreign woman who didn't need Power transfer like all of them to survive in this world. Many wealthy families tended to hire foreigners to take care of their children. Not only as a nanny, but also as a maid and butler or personal driver. It was more convenient to have someone who didn't need to have their matched partner not far from them.

Jaejoong's father pushed the two boys toward his car and walked behind them. Won-Bin opened the back door for them. The two boys got into the backseat and stayed still when the young father made sure they were sitting safely with the seatbelt securely attached. Then, he went to the driver seat and drove away, taking the road of his house, while the two matched partners were talking quietly.

"I made papa worry." Jaejoongie whispered. "I'm sorry Yunnie."

"Don't apologize." Yunho shook his head. "You didn't do anything bad. And uncle isn't angry with you."

"Hmm..." The younger boy nodded.

"Next time Joongie, don't fight. Okay?"

"I'm not okay."

"Joongie."

"But what if they said a lot of bad things about Yunnie again?! Joongie hates it. My Yunnie is not a monster." Jaejoongie pulled a face.

"It's nothing. They can call me a monster. I don't want to see you like this again."

"They said that I'm the monster's bri-bride." Jaejoong added with a pout.

Yunho looked at his Joongie with a smile. "Joongie knows what a bride means, right?"

Jaejoongie furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm not sure... But... It's like mama to papa, right?"

"Yeah! So, Joongie doesn't want to be my bride?!" Yunho added, still smiling at his matched partner's cuteness.

"Uh...?!" Jaejoongie looked at his Yunnie with confusion. He blinked once and twice.