Previously...

Y U N H O

He hesitated for a moment, "How are you?" Yunho looked at Jaejoong straight in the eye as he continued fixing the shirt. All he wanted to hear was that Jaejoong missed him and that he still loves him, but Yunho found that quite impossible. It's been years. Years of being disconnected from each other. And in those years, Jaejoong had probably found a better man. A better man who had qualities that Yunho did not have. But what if he wasn't? Yunho held on to a small thread of hope that Jaejoong had stayed single all this time, although he figured who could resist the man standing in front of him? The small thread of hope loosened little by little as Yunho's thoughts were the 'what if' scenarios that did not have Yunho being next to Jaejoong.

J A E J O O N G

As Jaejoong heard the first words he simply nodded and didn't dare to respond. He had always been shy and appeared cold sometimes to people who didn't know him. He didn't fight a lot with Yunho though but when they did, it was so bad that Junsu would cry tying to help both sides talk out their differences. The thought of Yunho being so obedient of the company workers haunted his mind. He always had this complaint - that Yunho cared more about his career than Jaejoong. It hurt though to be proven right as Yunho himself acknowledged that he wouldn't have bothered to come any close to him if the CEO or any manager were around.

 Jaejoong woke up from his daze as soon as he felt Yunho's fingers on his shoulder, his whole body tensing at the unfamiliar touch. It felt like electricity, Yunho's hands meant to be there, yet as the years passed, he forgot about someone else making him feel special. Jaejoong had always appeared confident in front of camera, but Yunho truly knew and understood how much insecurities the older had in real life. His uality didn't help with his confidence either.

 At first, he had only been with Yunho and had that thought that homoual relationships were all ideal just like theirs. Pure. But he had to lose Yunho to realize that the world wasn't so innocent anymore. That their cuddles during those movie nights were something precious, and that they would just become memories from the past.

Jaejoong was gay and he had grown to accept his ual orientation. And although he didn't want to lie to his fans, he couldn't risk coming out so instead during interviews, he always used the word 'partner' rather than 'wife' or 'girlfriend'. Jaejoong had been with other men since the scandal. Many other men. He couldn't even remember their faces. His main focus was to forget about Yunho. He never did though. The amount of money he spent, bribing his partners not to reveal the fact that he had moaned the name of his previous band member, he couldn't even keep track of.

As soon as Yunho ed his own shirt, Jaejoong was positive that he wanted to have fun, like most of his partners that used him for one night while he was searching for the reassurance that washed over him every time he was with Yunho. He wasn't going to refuse. But then Yunho surprised him again. How could a man be so precious nowadays?

"F-Fine, I guess. What about you? I've watched your drama. Soojin is very pretty..."

Y U N H O

Yunho shrugged, "I've been better... Oh have you? She's alright, I guess... Not my type though- if I'm being honest." Yunho naturally rested his hands on Jaejoong's sides, a gesture that would often put both parties at peace. His eyes widened in slight bewilderment before pulling his hands away, "I'm sorry... I didn't meant to" He scratched the back of his head nervously before taking Jaejoong's dirty shirt and folding it to keep his hands busy.

Yunho pondered on Jaejoong's response. You hear that Yunho? He's fine. He's fine without you. He must be with someone else already. The thread of hope that once existed for the smallest amount of time, disappeared almost instantly.

"You look great, by the way, minus the big shirt.." He poked his tongue out a little as to lighten the mood and break the silence. "You must be on a group date, I'm assuming?" Yunho kept digging his grave. Even though he loved hearing that Jaejoong was fine, it tore Yunho to shreds knowing that it wasn't him that he was fine with. Yunho sighed a little as he thought for a moment. "Are you by any chance... Busy after dinner? It might be a little risky, but I'd like it if we went to get drinks or something."

Once again, Yunho naturally moved his hand up to fix Jaejoong's hair, something that he loved doing. ", I'm sorry." He looked away. What is he doing? Because Yunho had come to the conclusion that Jaejoong was no longer single and better off without Yunho in his life, Yunho wanted every excuse to touch and feel him one more time, even if it was unintentional and really just out of habit.

J A E J O O N G

Jaejoong almost sighed in relief at the answer he was given. So she wasn't his type? That brought a small smile to his face as he remembered the interview of Yunho who was explaining his ideal type and Jaejoong was making it difficult for the other as he kept interrupting him to brag about having every single trait of Yunho's ideal girlfriend. The latter had surprised him by his last sentence, which was humorous to everyone else but the pure truth for the two of them only to know. ' I'll just go with Jaejoong then.'

The older glanced at his sides and tried his best to hide the disappointment that washed over him when Yunho pulled his hands back. But he still savored the brief moment, inhaling Yunho's natural manly smell and glancing over at his thin stature. No wonder he had gotten thinner. Jaejoong wasn't there to cook for him after all.

He smiled awkwardly at the other's compliment as he looked down at the shirt and memories flooded his mind as soon as he did so. Every time the two of them were in the dorm, they would struggle in the morning to get dressed before the other members would arrive. One time, they had to be so quick that they wore each others shirts by accident resulting in Yunho wearing a tight shirt and Jaejoong wearing an oversized one. That was when the members found out about the two of them.

Jaejoong simply nodded at the next question and was left frozen by the other's suggestion. Yunho wanted to go out with him? Wasting no time, he answered quickly before the younger lost his newly found courage. "Sure. I'd love to. Just like the hold times." He muttered the last sentence and forced an uneasy smile as soon as he felt Yunho's hand on his hair. A gesture that used to fill him up with happiness was replaced with nostalgia.

"3 am. Meet me at the entrance." He stated, trying his best to look emotionless as he stuffed the shirt inside his pants and left in a hurry, even forgetting to thank the other. Thankfully the shirts had the same white color so no one was suspsicious.

Y U N H O

Yunho sighed in relief and bit his lower lip to contain the small smile that was forming. He nodded in acknowledgement to the older and opened his mouth to speak but before he could, Jaejoong had already left to continue on with his evening. Yunho took a couple minutes alone in the restroom to think about the perfection, that was Jaejoong. Sure he had gotten more beautiful, but everything about him was still the same. His mysterious self remained yet he was still kind underneath his emotionless face.

He remembered most prominently their movie dates at the dorm. Those were his favorite. The two would spend an endless amount of time fighting over what movie to watch, something taking longer than the movie itself. But when the movie gets , the two remained side by side in each others embrace. The silence of being together and being stress free was Yunho's favorite time of the day. That and when he would come home to a meal prepared by his favorite chef, chef Jaejoong. They'd sit, talk and catch up over a home cooked meal and would simply enjoy each other's company. Those were the days... But they were long gone now.

Yunho walked back out of the restroom and returned to his seat, curiously looking over at the faces that surrounded the man he loved. The man sitting in front of Jaejoong was handsome, he must be Jaejoong's boyfriend or something. He's showing quite a bit of affection towards Jaejoong. Yunho returned his attention towards his family, looking at his watch, impatiently waiting for 3 am to come just so that he could be alone together with Jaejoong once and for all. As friends of course, because Jaejoong had acknowledged that he was on a group date and his apparent plus one seems to be the boyfriend.

As time went on, Yunho sent his family off with goodbye hugs before 'leaving' the restaurant. Truthfully, Yunho just wanted to stare at Jaejoong. Creepy? Not really, he was just there to observe the relationship between Jaejoong and his date so that he wouldn't be jumping to such crazy conclusions in his head. Sneaking off to the bar, he strategically picked a spot where he could see Jaejoong, but the other would not be able to see him. Jealous of their interactions, Yunho wanted time to move faster... Which it did while he watched the two with jealousy and excitement all bundled up.

It was late already and the restaurant had closed its doors for the night but the bar remained open . The two agreed to meet in front so at 2:50, Yunho picked up his coat and waited for the man to return to his side.

J A E J O O N G

Jaejoong was relieved as soon as he realized Yunho was meeting with his family. Unlike Jaejoong who had spent his day with his family but left them in the evening because he had plans with friends. They were aware of his uality, both of his families and his eight sisters, but never initiated a conversation about it. His adoptive mother kept pressuring him for a grand child, making him uneasy and awkward. Especially when she kept bringing up in the conversation, the polite and handsome friend of his, Jung Yunho.

Whenever someone brought Yunho up in conversation, Jaejoong would keep his mouth shut and his face straight. He was instructed to do so by his manager. His fans kept betraying him and continued to  make him feel uncomfortable though. During his concerts, they would shout Yunho's name or Yunjae, their couple name. Once, Jaejoong nearly broke and teared up because of the memories that resurfaced. He needed some time to get used to it though until he became an actor and learned to fake his expressions and act as if he wasn't bothered by the pure mention of his name.

As he sat at the table, it was strange but he could feel eyes on him. Then he cursed himself at the illusions. It wouldn't be the first time he thought he either saw Yunho on the street or that Yunho was looking at him, and yet Jaeloong wouldn't be able to spot him. He had even visited a psychologist about it. Forgetting Yunho was the only solution, that was why he had agreed for a friend of a friend to show up that night. Jaejoong had spent a night with him once but didn't bother to contact him afterwards. Apparently the man was still interested.

While they were having dinner, his friends seemed to enjoy the French red wine a bit too much. It didn't take long for them to get drunk. So drunk that the man even dared to make a move on Jaejoong while they were in public. His hands sliding behind his bottom, feeling him up. It wouldn't be the first time he was molested like that, to the point he had grown used to it and didn't even bother to react or more like overreact about it anymore.

When it was time for them to walk home, they exited the restaurant and Jaejoong could see Yunho from the corner of his eyes. As he was saluting his friends, he bowed to them awkwardly and widened his eyes when the man leaned over to kiss him. He simply put a hand on his chest and pushed him backwards, smiling awkwardly to his friends and telling them to take care of him because he was obviously drunk. As soon as they were lost from his eye sight, he walked towards Yunho, hoping he hadn't seen anything. For Yunho it was all morals and ethics. He never approved of such a life, he even got angry whenever Jaejoong got drunk.

"Uhm... So would you like to stay at the bar?" He asked while rubbing the back of his neck nervously, not even daring to look at the younger in the eye.

A/N: 

BIG OOP-

I just realized... whatever preview I had in the first chapter, I didn't include in this one... I didn't realize how much there was before those parts even happened. Consider them spoilers for the next chapter, I PROMISE.

anyways, I'm so excited for the story to unravel, and I honestly hope you guys are too!! I'm definitely thinking ahead as to how I can give the two a happy ending, but of course, I have to build it up. It's another tame chapter, a little more interaction between the two with some hints of jealousy. It honestly pangs my heart imagining these things!

preview of the next chapter:

lol, just go back to the first chapter and read that preview because that's what's going on in the next chapter for real.