Yunho POV

There’s just something about that Kim Jaejoong. You know the kind of something that makes you not be able to tear your eyes away from that person’s face; the something that makes you wonder where they are every second; the something that makes you want to take care of them for eternity even though you don’t know them at all. You just know from their presence alone. Some say that’s love. Am I, Jung Yunho, in love? 

No, it can’t be. Perhaps it’s just a fascination. I mean, who wouldn’t be slightly fascinated with that guy. His name is Kim Jaejoong as I have mentioned before. He has no friends and his long black fringe is always covering his eyes. I’ve never heard him talk and I’ve never seen him smile. Sometimes he just sits in a corner, completely isolated from the class. I don’t know exactly what he does because I’ve never really taken the time to observe but somehow I always manage to see drops of blood falling on the floor, slow drip by slow drip. I catch a small smile flashing across his face at times. It’s not really a smile, but that’s the closest to one I’ve seen from him. Sometimes I wish I can make him smile genuinely. Is that so wrong?

I send notes to him in class sometimes and he seems very nice. My mom says I used to talk to him when we were children but I guess we move in different circles now. He’s different now. 

It’s a gloomy day with a sky full of crying clouds to match a practically non-existent heat. I walk to school with my hands deeply buried in the pockets of my jacket and the first thing I do is look for him. Recently, I’ve felt like something horrible was going to happen in Cassiopeia High School sooner or later. Sounds cliché doesn’t it? 

I take my seat in class right at the back and I take out my camera and I scan the class to see if my suspicions have been confirmed. I see everyone....

Wait a second. Jaejoong!

I run to the window and frantically look for him. I don’t see him but I do see a crowd pointing and laughing. I don’t care if class is about to start, I ignore my friends’ protests to ‘just leave the kid alone’ but something’s not right.

I pass teachers in the hallway and I dash out to the popular students’ usual spot and there I see him covering his face, soaking wet, hanging from the tallest tree in the entire school. He’s shaking but I can tell it’s not from being wet and exposed to cold air. He must be afraid of heights. Suddenly my shirt collar gets grabbed from behind and JinSung asks me tauntingly to make good use of myself and take a picture of Jaejoong hanging from the tree. I hesitantly take the picture and I get dragged off by a teacher. How could they leave him hanging from there? 

So now I’m in class, running around in panic in my mind. Why doesn’t anyone care? As the class was about to finish, Jaejoong walks into the class quietly and the teacher doesn’t even notice. He just sits there in his seat and pays attention to the lesson. How did he get down from there? I look out the window and see that he had broken free and climbed down. At least he had courage for one moment. I wish could as well.

At break, he suddenly runs out the classroom and I follow him. He’s drying himself off and singing? He must have expected it. “Excuse me?” I snap out of my reverie and look him in the eyes. He has the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen.

Jaejoong POV

I don’t speak often. Not at school and not at home. Home isn’t safe anymore for me. My mom died when I was twelve and my dad began to drink and disown me. I’ve gotten used to the random beatings he would give me but it still hurts the same and it makes no sense to put up a fight. It’s the same at school. No one would listen. They all just want something from you. 

I was just about to enter the class when I got pulled and dragged to the school yard where all the popular students were at the time. The leader of them all, a tough guy named JinSung, shoved me against the tree and punched me right in the face. Two others threw ice water on me and they all managed to hang me from the tallest tree there despite my struggling. I saw my classmate, Yunho there but he had nothing to do with it. He took a picture of me due to force and I remember seeing the resentment in his eyes. When they were all gone, I tugged at the ropes until they let my wrists from their confinement. I was terrified of heights but I had to get down somehow so I slowly but surely clung onto the tree and made my way down. My face was bruised and I was soaking wet but I still entered the classroom and took my seat, knowing that no one cared enough to notice. 

At break I begin to feel a bit woozy and I had to get out of there. I run to an abandoned bathroom that a janitor had shown me once when I was hiding. Everyone seems to think it’s haunted for some reason but I see it as my haven. I begin to dry off and change into one of my many spare uniforms and I start to sing the familiar tune of Love in the Ice. I feel someone watching me from behind but it’s a different kind of aura, a safe one. I turn around and see Jung Yunho just staring me in the face, “Excuse me?”

He seemed to be having a monologue moment of some sort. Heh. Just like me.

“Jaejoong-ssi are you feeling alright? You look very pale.”

I tried to maintain my balance and assure him of my wellness but lying brings you nothing, I remember as the room begins to spin and I lose consciousness.

Yunho POV

I sit nervously in the hospital waiting area as the nurse said this is more serious than what she has usually seen. It makes me wonder how serious it is. Is he hiding something? 

The doctor came out of the room, “Is there a friend of Kim Jaejoong present?”

I stood up, “Here. What’s wrong with him? He suddenly fainted on me.”

“I think I should tell you that you. Kim Jaejoong is very troubled. He comes here frequently actually. Almost every day.”

My eyes widen and Dr. Choi speaks, “No not for fainting. You see, he shows up with these harsh bruises and cuts every night. We’ve tried to get him away from his father but unfortunately he has nowhere else to go and he just needs a friend. As a friend you should know, that Jaejoong is also a bit anorexic, that’s why he fainted. He has a high fever right now so he’ll be missing school.”

I was at a loss for words, “I-I see. I’ll try my best to be a friend to him. Um...May I see him?”

I entered the room, a clean white room with the typical hospital smell, and my eyes landed on a frail looking Jaejoong. For once he looks a bit peaceful. I didn’t know he had such a life. I feel the need to let him lean on me. He deserves to be happy sometime.

I come back in the morning to see him and his fever has gone down. I asked my parents if he could stay with us and they warmly accept him and he’s coming to live with us later on in the day.

Everyone is wondering where he is today. They laugh at him even though he isn’t there. The entire school day goes boringly without him being there for me to admire. He’s strong and can handle whatever is thrown his way. Unlike me. He gives me strength however. I feel the need to take care of him. I’ll freely admit it now. I love Kim Jaejoong. 

A month has passed. For some reason no one picks on him anymore. He talks and he doesn’t sit alone anymore. His dad was arrested and now he’s finally happy and he’s healthy. We are sitting in the park right now watching the sun set; it’s one of his favourite things to do. He just smiled at me. “Yunho-ssi...Thank you. For everything.”

I hug him warmly,” It’s nothing Jaejoong...I’ve told you to stop being so formal with me though.”

He flushes and looks down, “Um...Yunho...I...Um...”

My lips press against his and he responds shyly. Our lips massage each other’s and when air is needed, we break away and I look at him fondly. I look up at the sky, “You know Jae...While you were admiring blood in your little corner every day, I was watching you.”

He giggled, “I was pretending actually. I used to take red food colouring and pretend it was blood so people would stay away from me. I was actually watching you all the time.”

We both laughed heartily and he leaned into my embrace. Fascinations with blood can be stopped. Fascinations with Kim Jaejoong will never cease to happen. At least not with me. I’m in too deep.