I Hate Physical Contact

Jaejoong opened his eyes tiredly hearing something, the room was dark, the lines of his bedroom barely visible. The crackling sound made him sit up, it must be coming from the living room. 

‘Someone in the house... Melody!?’ 

He thought feeling his heart pick up a beat especially when looking around and his daughter was not in the bed with him. 

Slowly walking to the bedroom door, he could hear muffled voices. 

“Ummaaaaa!” 

Suddenly melody’s yell reached his ears and without second thoughts, he dashed out of the room to find three men hovering over melody’s tiny body, which looked bruised with her pajama’s torn. 

“Welcome to the party...” 

One of the men turned his head, his sly smile making him sick. 

‘They are back... they got Melody...’ 

His head was in chaos, thinking what he should do. 

“It’s your turn... now...” 

The man said standing up turning towards him.  

“Leave her alone!” 

Jaejoong said dashing towards them but he was held back by the man who faced him. 

“We don’t need her anymore...” 

He whispered in his ear, before one of the other two pulled a pocket knife, and without hesitation he jabbed the knife in the little girl’s chest 

“MELODY!!” 

Jaejoong shot up from his sleep drenched in sweat, feeling his chest tightened... Looking around the room, he was in the living room with his daughter sleeping in his lap cutely, putting his heart at ease. 

‘We must have fallen asleep watching the movie’ 

‘God... it’s just a dream...’ 

He thought seeing the lit TV paused at the menu. Looking up at the wall to see that it was 2:29 am...  

He barely slept for 3 hours...  

Carrying melody into the bedroom, Jaejoong secured the bed with pillows before walking back to the living room, tidying and turning off the TV before going back to bed. 

****** 

“Good morning...” 

Jaejoong entered his boss’s office the next day with coffee as usual. 

“Good morning, Jaejoong...” 

Yunho answered his eyes focused on the document he was reading, so Jaejoong just left him his coffee before going back to his office and start working. 

Two hours later, Yunho opened his office door, walking to his desk. 

“Jaejoong-ah...” 

Jaejoong looked up from his laptop. 

“Are you alright?” 

Yunho asked noticing the other’s tired face. 

“Y-yes... What can I do for you?” 

“Oh, The file of the Lee Woosung deal is on your desk, please finish it first, I need it by 12...” 

Yunho said sounding like a working boss again, before he gave a few more notes retreating to his office. 

“Oh! I almost forgot, I need you to make a reservation for lunch at 1:30... We are meeting Lee Woosung and his son Donghae...” 

“We?” 

Jaejoong looked up confused. 

“Yes, Jaejoong-ah... we... you are coming with me... have your notebook with you and a financial report... please get their file ready before 12...” 

“Deh...” 

Jaejoong answered seeing his boss disappear in his office again. It wasn’t unusual that the other goes out for a business meeting over lunch but that was the first time he was asked to go with him. 

Wasting no time, he worked on the Lee file, getting it ready and putting it on his boss’s desk by 12, then went back to gathering and reading what he needed to know about the deal, until the buzz sound next to him started followed by his boss’s voice. 

“Get ready Jaejoong-ah, we will be leaving in 10 minutes...” 

“Alight...” 

Jaejoong replied getting his bag ready, reaching for his coat when the other appeared from his office. 

“Let’s go... I like to be early on my meetings...” 

Yunho said grabbing the other’s arm gently pulling him to the elevators, but the reaction he got from the other surprised him, as Jaejoong’s body trembled and jumped away from him as soon as they entered the elevators. 

“What’s just happened?” 

“Excuse me?” 

Jaejoong looked away sensing how his boss was leaning towards him, apparently his reaction to the other’s touch didn’t go unnoticed as he hoped. 

“Your reaction, when I touched your arm... I can see that you didn’t like it...” 

Jaejoong’s cheek blushed looking away. 

“Is it against me personally? Or you hate this in general?” 

‘God, this is embarrassing...’ 

Jaejoong thought feeling the other lean more. 

“I hate physical contact in general...” 

Jaejoong words didn’t seem enough as the other’s voice got cold as he said: 

“I don’t want to be rude and say that you have a daughter which proves that’s not the case... but I need to ask this, Jaejoong.... do you have a problem with me?... if so, I need to know what it is, so we can fix it... you should know I don’t like to get personal and professional matters involved...” 

Those words sent the other blushing hard, he was so embarrassed by what’s said to him. 

“I... I don’t know what you mean... all I said is that I hate physical contact... that’s all...” 

Jaejoong said looking up at the other with wide eyes. 

“I don’t consider grabbing your arm a physical contact the way you see it... You better get used to it, Jaejoong... I don’t have time to think before any move I make, worrying about your feelings...” 

Jaejoong looked at the other shocked and hurt by what was said, watching him walk out of the elevator as soon as it opened. 

Following his boss quietly, getting inside the car as Yunho opened the door for him before going to the driver’s door... the first 5 minutes were spent in complete silence as Jaejoong sat in his chair next to his boss hands in his lap, looking away. 

‘I hate you... I hate you... what a Jerk!!! Insensitive Jerk!’ 

Jaejoong kept thinking holding back his tears, he felt humiliated after what was said to him, his fingers his coat. 

“Jaejoong...” 

Yunho called gently but the other kept looking away ignoring him, until they stopped at red light. 

“The way I reacted was really harsh and mean... I didn’t mean what I said... I’m sorry...” 

His words made the other look at him in surprise. 

“To be honest... The way you pushed yourself away from me, made me feel like a ert and it was the first time I've ever felt like that...” 

“Yunho-ah...” 

Jaejoong said weakly feeling bad for what happened... his reaction may have looked exaggerated to the other, but he couldn’t help it when his body responds to him like that.
 

“Is it your marriage...?” 

Yunho’s question startled him. 

“Yes...” 

Jaejoong answered thinking that it’s better than his boss finding the truth about how he feels. 

“I’m sorry...” 

Jaejoong swallowed and nodded, hearing the other’s soft tone, pointing to the road. 

“It’s green...” 

Yunho start driving again but his eyes kept checking on his assistant every now and then.  

“Did he hurt you?” 

Jaejoong looked at him again. 

“Physically I mean...?” 

Yunho continued asking, showing the other a soft side he didn’t know existed, and it was driving his heart crazy. 

“Yunho... I don’t want to sound rude... but... I really don’t want to talk about it...” 

“Alright, I'm sorry...” 

After few minutes of silence... 

“I know I shouldn’t talk ill of the dead, but... I’d say you are very lucky that he died...” 

‘He is right...’ 

Jaejoong thought smiling to himself, but the next question surprised him. 

“What happened to him?” 

Yunho asked looking at his assistant meeting his eyes for a second, sensing his hesitation. 

“Your husband, how did he die?... your CV only stated that he is dead...” 

“Um, It was an accident...” 

“Car accident?” 

“No... He fell down the building stairs and broke his neck...” 

Jaejoong said releasing a deep sigh knowing the other was waiting for more. 

“He was drunk...” 

“The usual scenario...” 

The other commented softly. 

“You want to talk about something else?” 

He asked looking at the other who nodded at him. 

“Tell me about your daughter, then...” 

“Melody?” 

“Yes!... Melody is quite a name... did you choose it?” 

“Well... It was a long and painful labor... I was...by myself...” 

Jaejoong said, thinking maybe he shouldn’t say that his husband was somewhere else drinking his head off, leaving him to suffer alone. 

“A very nice midwife, came to my aid when she knew I was alone... She stayed with me and helped me through everything... she is French... and her name is-” 

“Melody...” 

Yunho finished his sentence nodding with a smile. 

Thinking about his daughter was something that Jaejoong would never stop, his face lightened and his tone softened, his eyes sparkling just by the mention of her name... making the other feel strange. 

“But the name fits my little girl... She is a happy kid... smiles and sings all the time...” 

Jaejoong said with a genuine smile looking at his hands, thinking back about the time when he first held his daughter in his arms.  

‘He looks so happy when he talks about his kid... God, his smile, his eyes...’ 

Yunho thought swallowing hard, feeling that he needs to change the subject as his heart pounded quickly in his chest. 

“I’m sure she is...” 

He said in a serious tone, getting the other’s attention, meeting his eyes with a firm look for a few seconds. 

“I need to tell you a few things about our meeting, we are almost there...” 

He said getting a nod from the other whom looked at his lap trying to calm his heart after their eyes met, why did he have to talk about melody like they were friends... he should be more professional.  

Jaejoong kept nodding to his boss, barely listening to what he was saying, feeling more self-conscious. 

  ‘Why is he blushing? He looks uncomfortable... did I say something wrong?’ 

Yunho thought sensing the other’s uneasiness, the strong feeling to protect this man filled his chest. 

‘God knows what he went through his marriage... UGh! Whatever... He is just my assistant... and I shouldn’t think much of this... as long as his past doesn’t affect his work... yes! That is all I care about!’ 

Grabbing the steering wheel hard, trying to breathe out to calm his raging heart and focus on the road. 

The rest of the ride was spent in an awkward silence... once they reached the place, Jaejoong opened his door and took a deep breath, his eyes falling at the restaurant they are about to enter... He heard of this place before, but would never dare and dine in such an expensive place... 

‘I bet I look out of place here’ 

That thought made him self-conscious again. 

“Keep your head held high, Jaejoong-ah” 

Jaejoong looked up meeting his boss eyes, nodding firmly, the last thing he wants is to embarrass Yunho. 

“Lee Woosung is a sly fox, but when you meet him, you’ll see how kind and adorable he is... his son too... you will love them...”