A/N: This one is a non-linear chapter falling in between 9 and 10 of  Song For You. It's taken from all the head canon I had going on when I was writing Part I, so I'm actually surprised all of it so well. Enjoy!

THIS IS LOVE

Why was I that mad?

The question still bothered him. He knew he wasn't in love with Choi Minhee. He hadn't even been in love with her when they'd first started dating, something he still felt guilty about, though he had genuinely wanted to be in love with back then. So why, then, did the thought of her with Jaejoong make him so angry? Even in spite of all Jaejoong's assurances that he had turned her down and he had absolutely no interest in her whatsoever, just the simple remembrance of the two of them holding hands filled his heart with an odd pang of frustration. The thoughts that crossed his mind were even more odd and territorial. Don't touch him, he's mine. But 'mine' in what sense? Yunho couldn't possibly forbid a friend to have skinship with girls just because they were friends, and then there was the whole matter of Jaejoong not being 'his' at all. Jaejoong was a temporary presence. He'd be going home at the end of the summer, vanishing from his life as abruptly as he'd stumbled into it.

That thought also caused an odd pang and several firm thoughts of I absolutely do not want him to go. Yunho wondered exactly when he'd started feeling so... intensely about the subject. He'd liked Jaejoong from the moment they'd met-- or at least from the first time they'd met when Jaejoong had actually been conscious-- but technically speaking, he liked a lot of people. He had a fair share of friends at school, and in general tended to get along with most people he met. But it was very rare for him to get attached enough to the point where the thought of them not being around made him feel somewhat physically ill. Jaejoong was proving to be a remarkable exception, but Yunho wasn't sure how it had happened and just how attached he actually was.

The issue remained on his mind all through the work day, since there was really nothing else to think of in the mind numbing heat. Without realizing it, he'd sometimes catch himself downright staring at Jaejoong, sizing him up. He really is pretty, isn't he?, he thought. He'd thought so from the beginning, but it became even more impressive when you looked at him up close. Long lashes, silky black hair, a tear mole underneath his eye, a perfect complexion, and infuriatingly red lips. He imagined Jaejoong kissing Minhee for a moment, and it made him feel like vomiting. No, those lips could not come anywhere close to Minhee, absolutely not. Those lips were...

Are you getting possessive about Jaejoong's lips?, he asked himself. Wouldn't that mean... He shook his head, snapping back to attention when Jaejoong cleared his throat. He'd been caught staring. Great. He smiled weakly, and Jaejoong lifted an eyebrow.

“I brought strawberries for lunch, want one?” he asked, holding up the plastic container he'd brought with him. Yunho shook his head. He knew strawberries were a favorite of Jaejoong's, so it would be better if he left them all to him.

Jaejoong shrugged and popped one into his mouth. Mmm, those lips, Yunho thought. Wait... He waited for Jaejoong to interrupt him again and shift his thinking, but he didn't, leaving Yunho forced to contend with the fact that he'd just had thoughts about his friend's lips along the lines of they look incredibly yummy right now.

And they did. But those weren't the sort of thoughts you usually had about someone you were only friends with, particularly someone who was also male. But if you did happen to have those kinds of thoughts and weren't disgusted by them and were in fact kind of by them, wasn't that a pretty good indicator you had a thing for them? Yunho tossed around that answer in his mind. I might be in love with Kim Jaejoong. He looked at Jaejoong's lips again, which were in the middle of opening up for another strawberry, and imagined kissing them. The image was much more satisfying than imagining Minhee doing the same. In fact, it was downright y. In his mind, Jaejoong was a very good kisser-- not too good that it would make you think he'd fooled around a lot, but just good enough that it made you want to kiss him more, harder. Yunho tugged on his collar, all of a sudden feeling even hotter in the already unbearable heat. I guess I should probably take that as a 'yes', he thought.

His mind immediately tried putting on the brakes. You are taking this very lightly, Jung Yunho, do you honestly think it will be easy having these kinds of feelings about a man? Much less one you're supposed to be friends with, and one who you have no idea about as far as romance goes... would he date a guy? Has he ever had a girlfriend? Would he freak out if I tried to ask him out? Would his parents kill me? Would my parents kill me? Yes, they definitely would. And how would I explain it to other people? Not that it matters, what matters is what I want, but what does it matter if he would never even consider dating me to begin with? That thought in particular made his mood a lot bleaker. Now that he realized what was going on with his heart, something in him was even more resistant to the idea of Jaejoong having an interest in anyone else other than him. Even before he realized what was going on, he'd always hated it when Yoochun or Changmin got clingy with Jaejoong, except back then he'd tried to pin it on the fact that Jaejoong had initially been shy and withdrawn, and he'd thought the skinship made him uncomfortable. Now, he had to be frank with himself. He didn't like other people touching him because he wanted to be the only person Jaejoong had that affectionate relationship with. It had taken a rival in love like Minhee to get him to realize it, that having Jaejoong taken away from him was absolutely unacceptable.

“Do I have something on my face?” Jaejoong asked, snapping him out of his reverie again.

Yunho blinked, smiling nervously. “No, you're fine.”

“You've been looking at me weirdly all day.”

“...have I? Sorry.”

“No need to apologize...” He tilted his head. “Um, you're sure you're not still mad at me?”

“I was never mad at you,” Yunho reminded him. “On the contrary...”

“On the contrary?”

“Ahhhh... never mind. It's really hot out, isn't it?”

Jaejoong nodded, but still looked confused. What am I going to do about this?, Yunho wondered, drawing a hand through his damp hair. I wasn't in love with Minhee, so I don't know what to do when I actually do like someone. Is there any right way to do this? Or am I supposed to just let him go at the end of the summer as if nothing at all happened?

He didn't think he could do that. He didn't think his heart would accept that as an answer anymore, knowing what it knew now.

0o0

A few days later, and Jaejoong had repeatedly caught him staring while they were supposed to be working. If Yunho acted any more obvious, even Jaejoong would realize something was wrong, and Yunho wasn't quite sure he was prepared at the moment for Jaejoong wising up to his crush. He barely knew what to do with it himself, although there were sometimes recently he thought Jaejoong was also paying special attention to him, though it was all very subtle on his part in Yunho's eyes.

“Er, should I go get us some more water?” Yunho asked to distract him after Jaejoong caught him looking for the fourth time in a row.

“I'll go.”

“No, no, I'll get it.” Yunho snatched up their water bottles. “I think my brain is frying, honestly. It'll be good for me.”

“All right. I'll watch the stall when you're gone.”

As Yunho walked over to the fountain, he debated about whether he should tell Changmin about his new revelation about Jaejoong. Junsu would be no good, he was too close of friends with Minhee, and Yoochun would probably leak everything he said to Jaejoong for the right price. Changmin would probably be annoying about it, but at least he'd keep in to himself. He wouldn't hate him for it, either, Yunho was 100% about that. He trusted Changmin completely. But almost as soon as the thought crossed his mind, there was Minhee herself, leaning over the fountain and taking a deep drink. He'd have thought she would have stayed far away from the market after having her heart broken by Jaejoong, but she was a resilient girl when it came down to it. She hadn't been too badly shaken up when they'd broken up, not that she'd been losing a particularly doting boyfriend, or anything.

She lifted her head, meeting his eyes. He wasn't at all surprised when she scowled-- he'd definitely earned it-- but instead of stalking off, she stepped closer to meet him.

“Jung Yunho,” she said in a cool voice. “So you're here? Still mad at Jaejoong ssi?”

“No,” Yunho said. “I wasn't mad at him to begin with.”

“Really? You certainly were acting angry the last time I saw you?” She tapped her foot against the ground. She was just as he remembered her from when they'd dated. The same questioning inflection in her voice, the same sandals on her feet, the same short stature and sweet face. His friends had envied him when they'd gone out, and there had been nothing he'd disliked about her, but when you were in love, you were supposed to be moved by every little thing, which he hadn't been with her. They probably could have close friends like she was with Junsu if she hadn't developed a mistaken crush on him and he hadn't said yes to dating her, but as an ex-girlfriend, he felt such an insignificant spark with her. Everything he felt with Jaejoong was so much stronger, which is why it felt difficult to look at her now. She also liked him. He'd turned her down, but if he hadn't...

“I didn't like you being familiar with Jaejoongie,” he muttered.

She snorted. “I knew it. I knew he was wrong about you liking me. You never liked me, so of course it wouldn't make sense for you to start out of nowhere. But does that mean it isn't hopeless for him after all? I want him to be happy, but really, does it have to be you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Nothing?” She smiled thinly. “You're a very dedicated person when it comes to things you care about, you know? It's what I first liked about you? But you can be very stupid sometimes. Maybe it was because you didn't have feelings for me, but you really knew nothing about being a boyfriend. Do you think you could be better now? Do you even have the right to have everything I want?”

“Um... Minhee ssi, I'm sorry I never said it clearly before, but I am genuinely sorry about how I treated you back then. It was immature. We really shouldn't have gotten together in the first place, I understand that now.”

“Yeah, no need to apologize, okay? I thought you were a different person, and you thought I was, too. So if you're going to try again with someone who really matters, you need to be smarter? You need to learn what it really means to put someone first?” She stared at him hardly. “You like it when people spoil you, I remember. But if you really love someone, you also need to think of taking care of and protecting them, of facing up to everything good and bad at their side? Do you honestly think you could do that?”

Jaejoong's face flashed in Yunho's mind. Of course he could protect him. He wanted to protect him desperately, to erase all the sadness of his past and all the insecurities he'd previously harbored. He wanted to stay by his side through everything, though if they did manage to be in a relationship with each other, Yunho was certain they would have more than their fair share of difficulties. The world isn't free for people like us. There will be so many things I'd have to keep him safe from. Could I bring that upon him? Could I tell myself not to love him, if I thought it was better for him?

His expression softened. No, he wouldn't be changing what was in his heart. This was entirely different from how he'd felt with Minhee. With Minhee, he hadn't changed or allowed her in to direct any part of his life, but his thoughts of Jaejoong were borderline consuming him. He wanted to extend himself, to make whatever it took to be with him.

Minhee sighed. “No need to say anything, Jung Yunho. You never looked at me with those eyes before. Don't mess up this time, and I'll forgive you? But only for him.”

Him? Yunho looked at her curiously. Just what did she know? Was his change of heart so plain, even to her?

He didn't have a chance to ask, since she quickly turned her back and walked off to rejoin her friends. The thought struck him of how painless it was to watch her go, how it had always been painless to be away from her and not even breaking up had broken a single piece of his heart. He knew it wouldn't feel the same if it was Jaejoong turning his back and walking away with that note of finality. This summer was different from the one he had spent with Minhee a year ago, and he hoped it stayed that way. That summer had ended up with a separation. This one couldn't. He was certain of that, at least. Whether Kim Jaejoong loved him or not, he had to make sure that when he left, he wouldn't be dragging along the pieces of the heart that only he had the power of picking apart along with him.

Hundreds of words, thousands of images
I see them and it’s the same, I hear them and it’s the same
It’s a strange feeling, it’s hard and it’s easy
Out of the many loves, it’s the same love

Out of the ordinary people who will be forgotten in a matter of seconds
I know you’re different
Like the stars, love love
Just the way it is, love love
You and me
Just us two