Jaejoong usually didn't stare. If he looked at you, then maybe it was because you were intentionally rude, and your behavior of a was rubbing him in the wrong way. He might be watching your for some time to see if you weren't going around with your attitude to hurt even more people – this is why the most handsome boy in the Stanford University was probably staring at you as if you dared to call out his mother. But not today, today he's staring at Justin Anderson Smith III. because he dared to touch and grimaced at Jung Yunho, the exclusive external student from South Korea, whos brain is so brilliant that he could teach at Stanford in his twenty-two. But, there's something suspicious about the man who came from the other side of the world to take over one of the best universities in the whole world.

So little Jaejoong knew about Jung Yunho.

So much, he wanted to know more.

"I'm waiting for the day you finally open your mouth and talk to him," Junsu bumped his shoulder with Jaejoong to get his attention, "it's not like he had traveled half of the galaxy to drop love messages for humankind."

"Maybe he did," Jaejoong opposed, "maybe he's an alien, that would explain why he's so handsome."

"Alright, since you're blunt from the day you dropped from your mom's womb," Junsu locked their hands in a friendly gesture, "let's change our direction."

Jaejoong watched as their steps made them closer and closer to Yunho, who was reading Stephen Hawking's book in the park. His long legs were stretched out and barefoot. Jaejoong supposed that Yunho was studying physics, which meant his classes were all in the back building.

"Hey," Junsu waved his hand at Yunho, who was still reading his book, not paying attention to them.

Jaejoong pursed his lips, swaying on his feet nervously. The aura around Yunho was like chocolate, but red. It confused him. It was like Yunho was hiding something or someone. He couldn't feel the red strings attached, or any bond being formed, which only meant that Yunho had no soulmate yet. The strange aura around him could probably confuse someone as if he was hiding his partner, but then why should he do that?

"I'm sorry," Yunho cleared his throat and closed the book, "I was in the middle of a paragraph." He looked up at them through his glasses.

"I was just curious?" Junsu explained, "since you're an external student, but recently I can see you hanging around very often."

"Do I bother you?"

Jaejoong looked between the two men as they were exchanging their looks. 'Why so offensive?' Jaejoong thought for himself when everything about Yunho was suddenly screaming protect. He hugged his book, pushed his knees to his chest, and kept staring at Junsu without even blinking as if Junsu was a freaking ninja and could attack him in the blink of an eye.

"No," Junsu replied with a smile, "I've seen that the prince was bothering you, so I just wanted to check you out."

"Prince?"

God, Yunho was so cute when he asked with the curiosity of a little boy. Jaejoong couldn't help himself but smile. Usually talkative, he could only watch and listen to the smooth and deep voice.

"Justin Anderson Smith III." Junsu comically saluted before he dropped on the grass to sit next to Yunho, who smiled.

And what a smile it was, Jaejoong caught himself staring at the heart-shaped lips and the cute mole. Intelligent and handsome – a very unlike combination, but honestly, the concentration of such people could be found only in prestigious universities like Stanford. Jaejoong was in his third year, just like Yunho, and knowing how difficult and time-eating the classes were, he couldn't completely grasp the fact how Yunho managed to keep the tempo with others while studying external.

"This one who keeps staring at you is Kim Jaejoong, but call him Jae, or Hero, or Assubtt, we haven't decided yet."

Jaejoong rolled his eyes before he put his bag on the ground and joined the two under the lime tree. Yunho's aura only intensified when Jaejoong sat right in front of him, which was strange because it wasn't like Jaejoong was a mile away before so he could feel Yunho's mysterious vibes tickling his skin, but right now? It was like he was bathing in it – it was suffocating, like seeing someone having a dark secret, but not being able to tell anyone only darkened the mood around.

"Are you alright?" Jaejoong asked, feeling the sudden itching in his throat.

"Yes," Yunho beeped shortly, his knuckles turning white how tight he was gripping the book.

This time it was Junsu who looked between them curiously. He had no idea why was Jaejoong suddenly so pale like he was about to faint any moment and why Yunho looked like he was too close to a fire, so he kept pressing himself into a tiny ball of limbs.

"Are you going to a class?" Junsu asked, trying to cool down the atmosphere subtly.

Yunho shook his head.

"Cool, because we don't have classes too. We can go and grab food, what'd you say?" Junsu smiled.

"I know a good place!" Jaejoong stood up on his jelly-week legs and grabbed his bag from the grass, "do you eat meat?"

"Yes."

"Cool," Junsu giggled.

**

Yunho didn't talk too much, which Junsu tried to justify as Yunho was probably shy to speak in a foreign language, or maybe he was a closet introvert. However, that didn't explain the strange aura around Yunho. Lying on his bed with scripts scattered everywhere – as the messy person he was when it came to studying, Jaejoong couldn't concentrate. Yunho kept popping up into his mind. He couldn't get rid of the feeling that he saw him before outside the school area.

"You really didn't feel anything?" Jaejoong looked at his best friend.

"I've told you I stopped noticing auras after I found my soulmate."

"Yeah, I get that, but…"

"Maybe it's because he lost his soulmate?" Junsu offered an explanation, "isn't that similar to what you felt before?"

Jaejoong frowned at that. He tried to grasp the feeling of being dragged away from his soulmate. The thin red string being snipped hurt like a platoon of es, like a punch into lungs when one couldn't take a breath, slowly dying in a world full of oxygen. Nothing hurt more than the detachment of soulmates.

"It was a long time ago," Jaejoong sit up, scattering the remains of his notes all over his bed. "This aura was different. It was sweet but dangerous. Like pepperoni chocolate."

"Ew."

"Like a melted, hot chocolate or…" it was frustrating to describe something abstract. Though Jaejoong studied literature and English, he was struggling right now to give Yunho a proper characterization.

"When I sat down next to him, it only intensified."

Junsu gave it a few seconds before he rolled on his side on his bed and looked at Jaejoong, "you seemed anxious next to him tho."

"It's because he looked like anything I'd say would offend him. I didn't want to scare him away. He doesn't look like he has friends in this school." Jaejoong dragged his from the bed to clean his it from all the papers and books. "Do I have the prince vibe or something?" he turned at Junsu, who was unwrapping a strawberry lollipop.

"Yeah, you definitely look like a bully," he snorted at him with, "don't worry too much about it. Probably Yunho lost someone very dear to him and is still processing it. Maybe you're reminding him of that someone. Keep in your mind that every person has a hidden twin in this world."

"That's creepy," Jaejoong put the chimney of scripts on his desk.

"He's also probably not gonna stuck around too much," Junsu changed his position from side to his back, "so don't worry about it." He grabbed his Antigona book and opened it. The red string bookmark attracted Jaejoong's eyes. Junsu was probably right, and he shouldn't pry too much into a stranger's business. Yunho was just another passenger, and soon he'll go back to South Korea.

"I'm going for a walk," Jaejoong decided as he put on his boots and grabbed his keys from his desk.

"Don't overthink it!" Junsu yelled after him before the door closed.

**

Spring evenings were still cold for someone who was born in the middle of a desert. Jaejoong was a winter child, but the winter in the Mojave desert was hardly a real winter. Thought the weather could play him well with minus degrees, Jaejoong was used to the warm sand and sun always hanging high on the blue skies, which usually colorful clouds used as a swimming pool - it was a picturesque landscape. A simple and quiet life, before his parents had discovered, their son's a little bit too smart, and a little bit of a genius and they had decided to move into Los Angeles when Jaejoong was thirteen. Though it was already almost ten years, Jaejoong's heart was longing for the wing swinging next to his ears, for the coyotes trying their luck in the small town of Mojave. The city was hot. When Jaejoong told Junsu that only an oven or Dead Valley is more heated, Junsu couldn't imagine it. Hence, during the summer vacation, two years ago, Jaejoong took him into his hometown and watched as Junsu was melting right before his eyes.

The memory made Jaejoong smile, but when he approached the stand with street food, which he and Junsu always occupied when they were too lazy to cook, the smell of meat and garlic was mixing with something new, sweet like a syrup. The scent was attracting Jaejoong like he was a cartoon character. Before he could realize what was happening, he was standing right next to Yunho, whose cheeks were full of grilled cheese and tomatoes.

They both looked at each other, dumbstruck by coincidence. Yunho's shoulder's squared in a defensive mode – Jaejoong could swear that he saw him bristling like a cat. Well, so much about not worrying about it.

"Fancy to see you here," Jaejoong offered a smile and climbed up on the stool next to Yunho.

"It's not like you've seen me here before," Yunho mumbled with his mouth full.

"What if I did?"

Yunho eyed him curiously, wiping his mouth into a napkin, "it's my first time."

Jaejoong chuckled at that, swaying on his stool, "that's why it's fancy." He giggled.

It was different from the last time they had encountered under the lime tree. Maybe it was the smell of the tree that made both uneasy because Yunho's aura smelled different. It was less spicy and thicker like maple syrup. Yunho was even more talkative this time and didn't look like he was about to run away at any moment. Perhaps it was the spring heat of Los Angeles, and Yunho wasn't still used to it, and now when it got colder – he was like a fish from the deep sea. The idea made Jaejoong smile.

"Hero," the woman behind the small aisle greeted him with a cheerful smile, "as usual?"

"Yep, but with soda."

"So," Yunho cleared his throat, looking down at his half-eaten cheeseburger, "why Hero?"

The sudden interest warmed Jaejoong's heart "because I keep saving lost tourists."

Yunho stared at him through his glasses, his eyes bright in the light of the fluorescent lamps, "Are you serious?"

"My name's Jaejoong since my parents are Korean, and they insisted that all their kids would have a Korean name, but I was bullied in the kindergarten because nobody could spell my name correctly. It followed me through elementary school too. It wasn't about misspelling anymore because it's not that hard anyway, but solely for the principle, since they were the same kids that were bullying me in the kindergarten." Jaejoong sipped from his soda.

"Kids can be cruel," Yunho nodded when he turned his head back to his food.

"It could've been worses, trust me," Jaejoong tried to shoo away the darkening mood between them, "but for my parents, I was a hero because I had never returned the shoves or curses. I kept working hard to be the best student in the school."

It seemed that the happy ending easied the tension building in Yunho's shoulder. Jaejoong didn't need to hear Yunho's life-story to understand that he experienced even worse.

"So," Jaejoong nodded at the woman when she handed him nuggets with lettuce – a special order for the only Hero Jaejoong, "since there's nothing particular to do in the middle of the desert, I took a summer job in the Mojave National Preserve. I helped with cleaning and paroling…" he laughed.

Yunho looked at him, confused, "paroling? Isn't that for soldiers?"

"Yeah, it's…" Jaejoong stuck his nugget into the tomato sauce, "a joke. A gamer joke." He explained.

"Ah."

"Junsu is a huge gamer…"

"Alright."

Jaejoong took a deep breath before he continued, "anyway, once I've been cleaning the sheriff's desk while he was do