Part Ten—Three Years Earlier…

They were dating.

Yunho was still uncertain.

Jaejoong was the dream boyfriend. It could be because they still acted as they did when they were friends, excluding the kissing.

The way Yunho would find Jaejoong looking at him sometimes would make his toes curl and thrills spiral down his spine. He was love and it was obvious.

Jaejoong could not have asked for more in a lover than what he had with Yunho. The more time they spent together the stronger and deeper his feelings got. He never wanted to let the other man go.

Yunho sat Jaejoong down one evening and told him the rules when it came to making their relationship works. They would break up, he said, that was the law of the universe for people like them living in their country«Jaejoong had smiled and tugged him into a short lived kiss and whispered against his lips ‘not if I can help. It.’ He didn’t want to break up with Yunho. He didn’t even want to think about it.

All he asked for was for Jaejoong to give him fair amount of warnings before he ended things. Yunho knew he probably would not be the one that end their relationship. He didn’t want a repetition of his last three relationships.

He was giving Jaejoong a chance on those basis. Jaejoong assured him he would make him happy. Though he didn’t know what the far distance future held for them, he promised that he loved him and wanted to be with him forever.

Yunho smiled at the thoughts behind his words, because he knew for a fact they would end one day and Jaejoong would end up marrying a woman to keep his parents happy. They didn’t know he was gay, and Yunho knew Jaejoong would never tell.

They agreed to not have till they were a few more months in their relationship. They simply dated, like most teenagers did. They enjoyed it: it added a thrill to their relationship and made getting to their first time together as lovers much more exhilarating.

They went on dates, meet often, talk on the phone, text a lot and kiss—a lot.

Jaejoong surprised Yunho once by sending him flowers at his school, which was a his way of telling his coworkers he was a taken man and to lay off and that the person he was with was ambitious and loved him.

His coworkers thought he was dating a woman, and whispered, “She’s a tiger, that one.”

Yunho had laughed. “No, more of housecat. One with soft dark fur and large bottomless dark sloe eyes.”

She had chuckled and shook her head. “You’re in deep.”

A male co worker slapped him on the back and shook his head with a  tutted as he looked at the bouquet of flowers. “You cannot become whipped.”

He simply chuckled while his female coworkers who heard the male teacher glared at him and started to argue with him, “Is that so bad?”

He could say he was whipped, but they hadn't even had yet. They’ve barely even touched. Jaejoong wanted, he did too deep inside, but he always stopped Jaejoong because he wasn’t sure he was ready just yet.

His gift spark a stream of conversation among his co workers about love, gender norm, marriage and kids.

Yunho had laughed when he saw and read the card attached to it: Hoped your heart fluttered.

It had, even though he hated flowers. He in turn did the same thing to Jaejoong, but he sent chocolate.

They both had never been more happy in a relationship as they dating each other. Their friendship wasn’t impacted negatively by them dating, in fact, it made their relationship better.

When it came to , it was an uncomfortable event at first when they sat down to talk about the positions while they were sweating and .

Jaejoong topped. He had always topped. He was avidly opposed to bottoming, but he said fanning kisses on Yunho jawbone and down his neck to his chest that he would bottom for him if he wanted. He knew bottom would feel nice, because there must be a reason why people bottom, after all. He simply didn’t trust to bottom for a complete stranger because not everyone cared about their love and would be gentle and take their time.

Yunho was a reserve. He didn’t mind bottoming or topping. He had topped in many of his relationships and had been in a few were they would switch. He enjoyed both positions.

It had been awkward because of the serious mood Jaejoong created as he grabbed Yunho’s hand and asked him if he topped or bottomed, it were as if he was asking him if he’d killed someone or not.

The was great. Both of them enjoyed it. That part of their relationship being taken care of and being as good as the rest cemented their dating life.

It was good. They were friends and lovers. It was too good, in a way. They trusted and understood the other.

Yunho kept on slipping fast. It was as if he were on a slippery slope. He didn’t mind.

He was heads over heels for Jaejoong in no time, while Jaejoong made it pretty obvious he felt just as much for him, if not more, even. They both dared to hope for a long future together.

Yunho moved out of his shared apartment and got his own. It was a small apartment. By then he had the money to live by himself and needed and wanted the privacy of living alone.

Smiling with sweat drenching his fore and his hair sticking to the back of his neck he rolled to his side and pulled Jaejoong closer with a laugh.

He nuzzled where his neck and shoulder meet. “I love living alone.”

“I love you living alone,” Jaejoong laughed, carding his fingers through Yunho's hair. “I only wished I could live with you.”

A quick silence descend between them. “Why not?”

Jaejoong sighed. “You know I cannot. My parents wouldn’t allow t.”

“You haven’t tried.”

“The older they get—”

Yunho rolled his eyes, biting his lover. “You want to live with them, just say it.”

Jaejoong laughed. “I would say that if you had let me finished.”

“Oh, really?” He asked, his eyes twinkling, amused.

Jaejoong smiled when yunho flipped on top of him with his knees on both side of his narrow waist. He let his hands traveled up his chest before they dropped to rest on Yunho's waist. “I want to spend as much time as I can with them.”

Yunho eyes travel over Jaejoong’s defined features in silence. The handsome man exhaled, “You’re scared of them dying?”

Jaejoong lifted the corner of his lips into a small grin and nodded. “Yeah. A lot.”

Lowering his head Yunho let Jaejoong kissed him. “I would be too.”

“You’re not worried about your parents?” Jaejoong asked tugging Yunho’s body against his with his hands running over his heating skin. Jaejoong bit Yunho’s sensitive earlobes making him groan low in his throat as he answered him, “I try not to think about them.”

“Like they’re dead to you?”

Yunho pulled back and frame Jaejoong's face before he kissed him, sitting on his stomach. “Let’s not talk about this.”

Jaejoong nodded his agreement and Yunho kissed him.

They made love again.

Everyone noticed their happiness, especially the ones that saw them everyday.

“You’re glowing,” Nayoung commented, lifting an eyebrow with a grin.

“Am I?” He raised an eyebrow, looking away from his computer’s screen.

She nodded. “She must be good to you.”

He laughed, knowing where she was going with that. She was jealous of his happiness and the development of his new relationship, and not because she still liked him, but because she recently broke up with her last boyfriend. But jaejoong was good to him, like no other body had ever been. He was attentive and always there for him.

It was great to date your best friend he’d thought.

“Thank you,” he said, evading the topic.

“Be good to her too,” she softly punched her first on his shoulder.

He nodded and smiled. He would. He would hold on tightly to Jaejoong because he didn’t want to let him go. At first he wanted to take things in strides and just enjoy the now that Jaejoong could give him, but at that moment he wanted the future too. He wanted everything.

He didn’t want to let Jaejoong go. He had never loved someone as he loved Jaejoong. He gave him everything he could had ever wanted. With him he didn't feel unloved by his parents and that most societies around the world wished for his extermination. With Jaejoong found his place in this world and found a contentment he never thought he could claim.

He was happier than he had ever been in this whole life.

He didn’t take notice of how dependent he became on Jaejoong and his infinite love.

He completely forgot that their relationship was finite.

Getting up he pointed towards the printing room. “I need to go print some copies. I’ll be back.”

Mayoung nodded, lifting her eyebrows as she sipped her coffee.

Life was good to him. It was amazing to be in a relationship with someone that loved you just as much as you loved them. He never wanted it to

end.

At Jaejoong’s home his mother was the one that commented on his happiness and his father agreed, demanding for him to bring ‘her’ over.

He hadn’t even ask if he was in a relationship, he just assumed he was and that was why he was happy and he would be correct.

“You’re not getting any younger—”

Jaejoong quickly interjected his sire. “Only twenty six ad. Slow your guns.”

The old man sighed and shook his head at his son. “I am getting old. I want a grandkid to shake on my knees.”

“Twenty six,” he repeated, tightly smiling.

His mother slapped him on the back. “Stop repeating your age like a prayer.”

It had not been a prayer, but his shield.

“Plus, dad, you’re still young. You both have a few good years left in you.”