Chapter 65

Hyunnie clapped his hands loudly, “Beautiful, mommy.”

Yuri couldn’t help but smile at her son’s cheerfulness. She turned to the side & brushed the sleeveless, tie neck halter dress. Jaejoong had bought another expensive dress again. She swallowed tightly, wondering what he had done to those dresses that he had bought when they were still married, ‘Probably in the trash.’ She thought, with a thin smile now. She had her hair curled; not really knowing why she had took her time to do it anyway.

First date with him since years?

She inhaled, exhale, inhaled & exhale as she said, “I guess it’s time.” Walking over, she lay a kiss on Taehyun’s forehead, “Be good to granny & aunt Min.”

“Okay.”

She ran her hands down the dress as the doorbell rang. Taking Taehyun’s wee hand, they walked downstairs. Jaejoong was at the door, talking to Mina. He looked up & smiled, a really bright smile just at her. Ignoring Mina, he walked through the threshold & over to her. Mina rolled her eyes annoyingly & closed the door!

“You look radiantly angelic.” He said, wanting to do something instead of just using words.

“I get that a lot.” Yuri breathed out but that smile was still on his handsome-like face. She didn’t expect him to be smiling that much like a silly boy instead of drooling from a dropped jaw length.

“Are you ready?”

She nodded jerkily. Kneeling down to Taehyun’s height, Yuri gave him one last kiss with a saying of goodnight. She walked on ahead & opened the door, ignoring his requested arm. Jaejoong turned around & winked at Taehyun as Mina closed the door behind them. Yuri waited for him at the open gate with her arms crossed. Instead of opening the car door, he stood before her.

“I really meant what I had said.”

She pressed a thin smile on, “So did I.”

His smile was gone then. How many men did she date after the divorcement? Jaejoong turned away, unlocked the door & opened it. She entered the car gracefully. He shut the door lightly & walked around the car. Before entering the car himself, he fixed the choking gray silk bow tie. Damn, he needed some air just because of her! Getting in the car, he drove off.

Just to let the quietness shove off, he played on some soft music. Every now & then, his eye would move from the road to the side of her pretty face. She was more then an angel & goddess.

“Thank you for the dress.” She spoke out.

“No problem. I forced you to come to this banquet.” He paused for a moment, “You look very beautiful in that blue color. Your favorite color, isn’t it? Blue?”

She nodded, not sure if she was glad that he remembered such silly things. When she didn’t speak any further, he decided to continue.

“Do you remember what day it is today?”

She shook her head without thinking, “No. What is it?”

He grimaced in the dark, “Nothing.” He changed the subject, “The place is quite far from here. If you want to sleep ahead of time, just pull that handle down there & get comfortable.”

“I’m fine.”

She brushed back a falling curl from her bared shoulder & saw him glancing at her. He quickly turned back to the road ahead of him. A quick thought of his words last night ran into her head agai.

‘& I like you.’

He must be kidding. After he had said those words, he left her in a sentence of surprises & angry moods. He shouldn’t be playing around like a little boy who’s trying to make up excuses. She didn’t like it more than what he was thinking but what she refused to believe was more than a tipping heart.

It was surely a long two hour drive. Yuri had opened the car door herself & when she stepped out into the hot sunset, her sleeping feet almost made her trip. Jaejoong walked over to her, grinning.

“Beautiful sunset, huh?” He asked, lending her his arm. She half-smiled & rested her hand on his waiting arm. He let out a secret breath, glad that she was doing this finely. They walked towards the entrance as he said, “I’m going to introduce you to a bunch of people like the usual.” She nodded, knowing how these kinds of parties go, “If you get tired, just tell me & we can head home. Don’t hesitate if I’m talking to anyone.”

Jaejoong sounded as if he cared so much about her. Yuri pulled on a clever smile as they reached the doubled door. The attendants bow as they brushed through. She breathed in the homely, fresh air along with the soft playing melody. Jaejoong glanced at her. He wanted this night to go so right. Pulling himself closer to her, he whispered in her ear but god damn, she flinched as he did so!

“I want to introduce you to the host & hostess of this banquet. I’m sure they will love you.” She nodded as he lead the way to the two couples just a few yards away. Guests smiled at her, admiring her beauty. Jaejoong noticed & his smile widened. After being introduced to so many more people, they went to sit at the far end table with Jaejoong’s refusal of sitting in the reserved spot for both of them.

“You are doing great.” Jaejoong whispered.

Yuri managed a shaky smile. He noticed her hidden nervousness & slapped his mouth shut. He didn’t like these kind of parties more than she did. Attending them was the only way to stay in shape of his lovable career. Jaejoong got up as his name was called. It was time to make his speech. He wanted to kiss her cheek for good luck which he never needed until now but she glance up at him as if just waiting for him to leave her alone. He grimaced & walked over to the podium.

She jerked as a hand touched her bare shoulders. Turning her head sharply, she met the eyes of Yoochun. A smile suddenly appeared on her face.

“Yoochun Oppa, you scared me.”

He smiled innocently, “I’m sorry.” He flexed his hands out to the chair Jaejoong had just left, “May I sit before Jaejoong comes back & steal you?”

She laughed, “Go ahead & sit. I haven’t seen you for a long time now. Where had you been?”

Yoochun stretched out his long legs & grinned, “You know, here & there.” He studied her, “You look gorgeous tonight. Haven’t seen you dress up like that in a long time. Missed your beauty around here.”

“Thank you. Who are you here with tonight?”

His grin widened into a roar of laughter, “You wouldn’t believe it but I’m with a lady lawyer.” Yuri rose a brow, “Yeah, surprising but she’s not that bad or that mean. She’s actually wonderful. Seohyun, that’s her name.” He leaned forward, suddenly changing the subject, “I received the invitation to Jaejoong & your wedding. Congratulations.”

“You don’t really mean that, do you?”

His smile disappeared, “Of course, I do. I’m happy for both of you.”

“Please don’t make things worse than it already is, Oppa. The congratulations word shouldn’t ever be use upon Jaejoong & me.”

“Yuri, you really.” The clap of the guests’ for the ending of Jaejoong’s speech interrupted his sentence.

“Please, Oppa, don’t discuss this later on. It will just ruin the night. I’m trying to have a blast.” She didn’t sound too enthusiastic.

“Alright.” The music started to play again. Yoochun stood up & stretched his arms out, “Can I have this dance for an apology?”

She couldn’t help but glance towards Jaejoong. He was shaking hands & letting out thanks while trying to walk over to her. He caught her eyes in an instance. Those eyes weren’t so much as shining as before. Yuri averted her attention back to Yoochun with a swallow.

“Of course.”

She took his hand & stood up. Onto the dance floor, she only concentrated on the dancing. Well, at least she tried to. Every time her back was turn towards Jaejoong, she can feel his burning eyes crawling up her spine & every time, when she was facing his way, she will always close her eyes or turn her face to the side. His eyes were killing her.

“Seems like my dear friend isn’t so happy about this dance, my lady.” Yoochun said, looking down at her.

She shrugged, “It’s just a dance.”

“I’m his best friend, Yuri, & I always know what he’s thinking & right now, I know that he’s thinking of a way to kill me for taking his woman into my arms.” Yoochun chuckled, “& he knows what I’m thinking about right now, too. Shall we head back before he comes over here & have my head?”

Yuri grew irritated, “Shut up & finish the dance you asked for!”

Impressed by her command, he laughed, “You got it & I knew you always could control Jaejoong’s temper with that mouth of yours.”

‘When we were still married.’ She thought.

As the song came to an end, Yoochun escorted Yuri back to Jaejoong. Unexpectedly, he grinned up at them, especially at Yuri. Both men exchanged some words before Jaejoong turned back to her.

“Did you have fun?” She nodded her head, unable to speak, “I’m glad you did.”

“Well, I will be heading back to my woman.” Yoochun said, slapping Jaejoong’s back & then backing away into the crowd.

Jaejoong smiled again, “I guess one dance is enough for you, right?”

She frowned at him, “You are quite right.” Not wanting to stay any longer in the room, Yuri glanced at her blue & rose gold analog bracelet watch. They had only been in here for two hours but it had seemed like more, “Tired?” He had sense her anticipation of boredom. Instead of waiting for that lying word ‘no’ to come out of , he stood up & took her hand, “I’m tired. Let’s get out of here.”

“What about…?”

“Everything I need to do here is done already.” He interrupted quickly, “We just need to say our goodbye to Mr & Mrs. Hak.”

After Jaejoong’s lied of Yuri having a slight headache to the host & hostess, they reached the car & Jaejoong drove off & the lord may curse them; they had done that a thousand of times four years ago. There was nothing funnier than running off from a still going on party like teenagers.

The slight smile Yuri had on disappeared as Jaejoong drove straight instead of turning left. She averted to gaze at him but didn’t ask him where he was going. She just waited until he made a turn & entered the vacant parking lot. He parked silently, turned off the ignition & leaned back. Yuri sat still with her back straight, staring out at the empty & dark park. Silence covered them. She only waited for him to speak up. He changed position & leaned forward again. Finally, he turned to look at her.

“Would you trust me enough to have a night picnic out here in the park since you hadn’t eaten at all?”

Oh, she forgot to eat. Ashamed that he noticed, she suddenly felt hungry. Was this man always prepared?

“It will be lovely.” He grinned then. Getting out of the car, he opened the back seat door & took out a woven basket. More surprises, her eyes widened as he walked over to her.

“Packed myself.” He sounded proud & she couldn’t help but let him see that smile on her face. They walked a distance & came to a spot she remembered so well. He glanced at her & knew that instant what she was thinking about just by the look on her face. He set the picnic basket down & took out a thin blanket.

Spreading it out, Jaejoong sat down. He glanced up at her. The park’s lamp shined above her. He didn’t dare tell her she looked beautiful again.

“Come on.” He patted the spot next to him, “Sit down.”

Yuri ran a hand down the dress before sitting down a foot away from him. He took out two sandwiches & handed one to her. She thanked him & drove into the fresh sandwich. Jaejoong gazed at her more than enjoying his food. As Yuri finished, she took a sip of the juice he gave her.

‘Dammit!’ He thought, almost like a madman, ‘Where are those fireworks? The carnival was supposes to be ending right now & fireworks were to be let off at the time.’

“Yul…”

Ah, there it goes, just when he was ready to talk. Yuri tilted her head & looked up at the fireworks in awe. She smiled.

“It’s beautiful.”

But not as beautiful as you, Jaejoong wanted to say. He touched her hand but she jerked it away in a start. He tried to smile, “It’s our first kiss anniversary.”

She squinted her eyes in the dark. Her heart skipped a beat at his remembrance. So, this was why he really needed a partner. This was why he asked if she remember what today was. This was why he took her to the park & this was why there were fireworks. It was their first kiss anniversary.

Yuri shakily swallowed. She didn’t remember but he did. Her eyes glinted. Just like the opposite years ago. Part of her didn’t like this because of the rotten memories but part of her was too glad to respond. He really remembered.

Jaejoong reached into his gray ralph lauren pant’s pocket & took out a small, velvet box. He opened it & an 14k white gold diamond engraved three stone engagement ring appeared, “I bought this a while back but kept forgetting to give it to you.” Jaejoong took her left hand & she didn’t pull back. He slipped the ring through her ring finger & then smiled up at her, “Happy first kiss anniversary. Thank you for remarrying me. I will try my best to make things better.”

She her dry hot pink lips, “Thank you but I don’t have anything to give to you.”

He was silent for a while, “What about a kiss?” He tried to teases but it came out so seriously. Yuri gazed up at him & away from the engagement ring, “I’m joking.” He said remorsefully, from the look of her face, “Really. I’m sorry.”

Yuri tried to smile, “It’s fine.”

He didn’t think it was.