Author’s Note: This story is set in an alternate universe, in an imaginary town and country, and during an ambiguous time period

To not appear like a complete loner, Jaejoong walked back in the house. It was huge, but he presumed it might be because of the long hallway and high ceiling. Those gave the illusion of the place being a mansion. Or being alone made him feel like it was a palace. A labyrinth. 

Walking from the living room, he noticed the game room was loud and busy. He decided to take a peek. He would be one in a huge crowd, based on how loud they were. No one would notice him. He could disappear in there for a few minutes. 

Smoke greeted him when he entered. 

There were fewer people in there than he thought there would be. They were, indeed, very loud. 

No one spared him a glance when he walked in. 

People were piling on the floor, couches and loveseats, smoking, drinking, making out, or watching the pool match.

It appeared to be girls versus boys.

They were having fun, if their loud banter and equally chaotic laughter was an indicator of anything.

Amidst the players was none other than one of the people he did not want to see, a  half Jung Yunho in swimming trunks with his bangs up in a messy, spikey man-bun. 

Was he growing his hair out? Jaejoong wondered, never noticing before that his hair was fairly long.

Yunho was no longer dressed like the deacon son he had been cosplaying. He was in his full jock glory. All bronze and muscular. 

Jaejoong hoped he could escape before he was spotted by him, but he was low in luck.

It was as if Yunho sensed when he walked in the room. He lifted his head and made eye contact with Jaejoong. His mouth parted into a perfect little “ooh”. Just then, a petite, round girl pushed into him. Yunho didn’t move away from her, nor looked at her, his eyes stayed fixed on Jaejoong. 

His heart jumped up into his throat, fire cascaded through his body. His stomach clenched.

He had to leave. Now!

He turned around and tried to make his escape. It was hard. Running through a throng of sweaty bodies and tipsy people was hard. He bumped into someone that didn’t understand the intricate delicacy of a packed party, because they were not pleased. 

It took longer than he intended to find his way outside. 

The air outside was scorching and humid. He had to breathe through his open mouth. Beads of sweat popped on his moist forehead.

That’s why he had complained. 

He was not ready to see him yet. 

And when they did meet, he at least wanted it to be on his own turf. At his parents’ store. He was not ready. 

He tilted his head down, crouched down a little bit, placed his hands on his knees, he gripped there. It hurt. He pressed his eyelids tightly closed and tried to count to a hundred, or until his ears stopped ringing.

Getting blood to flow down from his head was probably not the best solution, but he felt too air-headed to think logically.

Hoping he was completely isolated and would not be seen by anyone he knew or held in high regards, he tried to calm down and stop his nervous breakdown from happening now. He was fine with it happening later. Later when he was home.

“Hey, you good?” Laughter coated those words.

!

Why was his luck so horrible?

Jaejoong knew that voice and he hated himself for how he reacted when he heard that deep voice. 

Could this night get any more perfect, he wondered? His mood darkened. 

Flipping up too quickly, he was thrown off balance. He lost his equilibrium. He should have known holding his head down for so long was not going to help him find his center of peace.

it all!

“You good?” Yunho reached out to steady him. 

Both looked at where Yunho was touching. It burned and he yanked his arm free.

Jaejoong's ears were ringing and he gave himself up to the astonishing fact that, though his heart was pounding and his backbone felt like a pipe full of cold running water, his head was fiercely calm. and so he decided, he was crazy. Truly.

He must have lost it the moment he saw Yunho’s face almost three months ago. What he thought had been a practical joke hadn’t been. It was hell. He was in hell. That could be the only explanation. Because, why on this green earth was Yunho hunting him down and following him around? He thought they agreed it was best they ignored each other!

“You?” Jaejoong stupidly asked, and he watched as Yunho’s dark, marble liked eyes took him in, confusion washing the sharp planes of his face. 

Jaejoong was filled with a nervous feeling as adrenaline rushed through him. 

“Sorry?”

“Sorry,” Jaejoong said, too.

They have said the same thing in unison.

And, for no good reason, Yunho started laughing. His body convulsed with his bliss. And Jaejoong stood there dumbfounded. He finally understood the saying “twinkling eye.”

To be honest, Yunho’s eyes weren’t literally twinkling, but his eyes had this bright intensity that made Jaejoong’s breathing stop and fogged his mind.

His knees weakened. 

He wanted to smack himself.

Seemed like Yunho had already forgotten about their last interaction. But he hadn’t. His stomach clenched in nervous knots. He hated feeling like that. As if he was at Yunho’s mercy.

Jaejoong took a step back. “I meant to say thanks. You just took me by surprise. That’s all.”

Out of all the smiles Yunho had ever given him, none had been as open and warm as the one that was on his face that night. That surprised him. He hadn’t expected Yunho to be so receptive to him. In fact, he had hoped Yunho would have ignored him, as he had made it very clear that was what he wanted.

“You’re stalking me?” Jaejoong asked.

One perfect dark eyebrow snapped up, forming a perfect arch. And he laughed. Yunho laughed. It was sudden and completely light and joyous. The muscles in his chest and abdomen flexed with the movement.

Jaejoong yanked his gaze away. 

There was also that factor. The half- factor. Made it hard to ignore Yunho’s dedicated hard work.

Jaejoong, too, worked out. He visited the gym four times a week with Bryan, but he sure didn’t look like Yunho. He was doing something wrong and he would remedy it. It was all envy and admiration that made his eyes linger over his fine chest and cinch waist and…

He lifted his eyes up when Yunho said on a chuckle, “No.” And he bit the inside of his mouth and he gave Jaejoong a searching look. “You want me to?”

That was a flirt. Right? No, he was certain it was, and he didn't know how to reacte---or how he was supposed to react.

His pulse thundered, he felt it resonated in his forehead and Jaejoong almost choked on his spit. Coughing ungracefully, he covered his mouth with the back of his left hand. He cleared his throat with a vengeance.

“You’re delusional.”

That made Yunho laugh again.

It was as if everything that came out of Jaejoong’s mouth was comedic gold to Yunho’s ears. 

While he was laughing and enjoying their interaction, all Jaejoong could do and think about was how he needed to avoid Yunho’s fine eyes and sculpted body. Also, he needed to escape.

“Are you drunk? High?” Jaejoong asked, squinting at Yunho’s general direction. 

“No.”

Jaejoong dared look him in the eyes. 

Yunho did that thing again. The blinking thing. It really was his eyelashes. Why did he have so many? Why were they so lush, dark, and thick? It was…beguiling. It was hard not to notice how well they framed his eyes. And how dark his eyes were. Like a motionless summer night sky: pitch black with a generous sprinkle of stars.

Ridiculous.

“Well,” Jaejoong quickly said, trying to gather his wits around him. “I’m going to go in and enjoy this….” He motioned with his arms.

“Fine party,” Yunho finished for him, the corner of his lips lifting. Even his lips. He had fine lips. Lucious even. All plump and….

Whoa there, buddy; calm down!

Jaejoong gave an embarrassed and, because of that, resentful little nod.

Where was all this coming from? He always knew Yunho was attractive. Since day one. He had seen Yunho’s half- body before. During their freshman year, they shared the same gym class. He hadn’t enjoyed those quick, secretive looks. They had made him feel dirty and he hadn’t done it because he wanted to or enjoyed looking at Yunho. He had just been there and his eyes caught his visage and he had noticed how nice his body looked and how he wanted a body like that, too. Clearly he never managed to achieve such a body, though he was working on that now.

This was all uncalled for, truly.

Yunho had always been good looking, but he knew the real Jung Yunho. He went to high school with him and got bullied by him.

He needed to stop.

What was he doing right now? 

Warm smile or not, this was his former bully who wanted to be friends because he was probably scared he’d tell the world he was ing gay. Jaejoong refused to believe Yunho when he said that had never been a cause for fear and not why he had been adamant about securing a friendship with him.

“I’m happy to know you’re enjoying the party,” he said, his voice calm and casual.

“You sound like the host?” 

“No. I don’t even known him.”

“And you’re here?”

“Do you know him?”

He smiled in that way again. The warmth and sincerity of it soaked in Jaejoong's bones and made the inside of his stomach tingle. It left Jaejoong in an even fouler mood.

Yunho not only looked at him as if he were talking to a dearest friend, he also sounded like he was talking to a close friend. It irritated Jaejoong.

“Yunho, do you need something?” He had followed him after all.

Yunho shook his head, flashing him that smile again–that tender, sweet smile. His teeth stood out pearly white against his golden skin.

Against his conscious will, Jaejoong's heart skipped a beat.

“Just wanted to make sure that you were alright.”

Jaejoong ignored how ludicrous that sounded and simply said, “I am good.” 

“Aah. Right.” Yunho shuffled his feet a bit. He was barefoot. They were big. Everything about Yunho was big. Jaejoong was tall himself, but lanky. Yunho was still a few inches taller than him and much wider and bigger.

Jaejoong glared at his swimming trunks. Something outwardly ugly about him he could criticize. They were ungodly ugly. It was filled with sausages. A boi pick. A boi haircut coupled with a boi swimming trunks was too much. 

Jaejoong almost laughed at how stupid it all was.

Staring nonexistent holes in them helped him orient himself and find logic again.

He found his courage and looked at Yunho, returning him a stink eye for his light smile. He said unabashed, “Your trunks are ing hideous.”

Jaejoong swore if there had been enough light, he would have seen him turning tomato red. Carding his knobbly fingers through the hair at the back of his head, the small, silky strands sticking haphazardly on his head, he mumbled, “It was a gift.”

“Yeah. I can imagine.”

They stared at each other in silence for an awkward half second that felt like half an eternity. Long enough for Jaejoong to want to disappear.

The silent and nervous intensity toJung Yunho made Jaejoong thrummed with a quiet, unexpected excitement.

“I’m going to go.” He said futilely again, pointing back toward the shimmering house.

Yunho opened his mouth to say something and thought against it and he slowly closed it. Jaejoong half hoped he had said it. He couldn’t read his face. 

“Anyways, I’m—”

Yunho interjected, succeeded in producing words this time around. “I hope you’re not leaving because of me.”

Jaejoong snorted. “You wished. I'm not leaving the party. I am just getting away from you.”

Ouch. That hurt. He instantly regretted his biting remark the moment it left his mouth and Yunho’s face fell and his hurt feelings flooded his face.

“Right.” He muttered. His face shutting down. “I’m sorry.”

“Drop the sorry.”

“Okay.” he dragged the vowels.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to come out like that,” Jaejoong tried to be honest. “I’m just…” He crossed his arms over his chest and bit the inside of his mouth. “I don’t know how to react to—” He couldn’t finish his statement. Jaejoong decided it was best he left now while he was ahead. 

“Right!” Yunho said, his voice slightly louder than it had been the whole time he had been in Jaejoong’s presence. “I forgot.”

“Huh?”

“I just got carried away. Umm. You enjoy the rest of the party.”

Jaejoong nodded and when Yunho didn’t move or say anything more, he understood he’d have to walk away. And he did. Feeling all sort of weird and discombobulated. 

He knew he was going to ponder this interaction for the whole night while feeling like a piece of .

He wanted Yunho to pay attention to him and, actually, run after him and say something. Anything. And that made him feel even more confused. He also wanted Yunho to stay away from him and stop messing with his feelings and his head.