It occurred to Jaejoong that he wasn't being very fair to Yunho. The other boy trailed after him like a lost puppy for extended parts of his day at university. He took him out of the house, though whether that was to encourage the two of them to bond or because he didn't want him moping he couldn't be sure. He assuaged his fears regarding his cooking complex, for a second time in his life. He was always there, be it talking or listening to him.

And in return, Jaejoong had continued to give him a bit of a cold shoulder. At least, that's what Jaejoong termed it. That whole loner facade he'd constructed about himself when Yunho had left demanded that he must keep his distance from everyone. His common sense told him it would probably be a stupid thing to do to surrender himself to Yunho; to open himself up as a friend once again. But the old him; the one he tried to bury as much as he could, was dying to just let go. Yunho's warmth and friendliness was endearing, and that part of him wanted nothing more than to open himself up to it completely.

Though he wasn't sure he wanted to do that, part of him screaming for him to open up in some way, was more than enough of a voice to listen to. Maybe he should initiate something between them this time around? Make a gesture of good will. Make an effort for Yunho. Maybe that was all that was separating them from returning to being the best of friends again?

He'd have to discuss it with him later, but more importantly, he'd have to decide where he wanted to take the younger boy.

- -

He could honestly say he wasn't expecting to run into him here. Yunho had been on his way to one of the Chinese History lectures he shared with Jaejoong, practically skipping in his excitement, but he settled down as he approached the room. There was someone waiting near the front of the door that he really didn't want to see right now.

Or ever again, if possible.

He considered just turning around and heading downstairs. There were two doors through which he could enter the lecture theatre, and if he used the other one he could avoid the other boy, who hadn't yet noticed his arrival.

But then what about Jaejoong?

The older man wouldn't know to use the other door, and there would be no way for him to get around to the other door, without passing Yoochun. That's who Yoochun was probably waiting for. But Jaejoong didn't want to see him; and he shouldn't have to. The two of them had ended their friendship; why did the other man insist on torturing Jaejoong by showing up like this? Maybe if Yunho went up and spoke to him, he could convince the other man to leave before Jaejoong saw him, to spare him the pain.

He was never going to recover from their lost friendship, if he kept seeing Yoochun at every point and turn. Besides, seeing the other man always made Jaejoong so angry. Yunho suspected though that there was sadness beneath that anger, which, Jaejoong chose to keep hidden. Feeling anger was probably much easier than acknowledging his feelings of loss and betrayal.

That decided, Yunho kept up his pace towards the door, making sure to slip into the same sort of guarded, “public” face that he used with anyone he despised. He would never be accused of bad manners even if he wanted the other person dead; even when they didn't deserve to be treated so well.

“Yoochun?” he queried, as though that name wasn't burned into his mind. He deserved to feel forgettable; just like how he made Jaejoong feel.

The other man turned round at the enquiring voice, his head tilting in a slight nod of acknowledgement. “It's good to see you, Yunho. In fact, you're just the man I was looking for.” he answered simply. Yoochun always seemed to speak in a monotone when Yunho was around, and he couldn't help wondering how Jaejoong could put up with such a boring, despondent person.

But then again, when he was being himself, Jaejoong could be the very embodiment of a dorky good time. The best kind of fun in existence. He probably balanced out Yoochun's melancholy quite well.

“Oh? And why would that be?” he answered lightly, eyes fixed on Yoochun's features, unwavering.

“There was a small matter I wanted to discuss with you.” Yoochun began, his own gaze staring Yunho down as he spoke, “I wanted to enquire about what you're doing with Jaejoong. What's going on between the two of you?”

Yunho frowned at the attempt to demand information from him. “Jaejoong told me you asked him something like this a few days ago. I'm fairly certain, he said the polite equivalent of 'get stuffed'. Why shouldn't I say the same?” Yunho probed.

The corner of Yoochun's lips quirked up into something resembling a smile, and Yunho couldn't but wonder just how often he made a face like that. It brightened his face up quite considerably, and Yunho could suddenly see him being quite attractive. Did he always perk up a bit like that when Jaejoong came up, when the boy in question wasn't around?

“Yes well, as I'm sure you know, Jaejoong can be quite... emotional.” Yunho rolled his eyes slightly at the comment; that was certainly an understatement. “I'm of the impression that you, on the other hand, are very reasonable. Surely someone level-headed like yourself won't have such an exaggerated reaction to a simple conversation.”

Yunho sighed slightly. Clearly, Yoochun was being quite serious about wanting this conversation. Jaejoong hadn't shown up yet; maybe if Yunho entertained his wishes, he would leave before the older boy arrived. Besides, accommodating him, might prevent him from continuing to harass Jaejoong for answers.

“While I dislike the condescending way you're talking about Jae, I suppose I can answer you. But, you have to stop pestering him; do you understand me?” Yunho demanded.

“He won't hear another word from me.” Yoochun answered easily.

Slightly hesitantly, Yunho finally answered, “Jaejoong and I are seeing one another.” Yoochun gave a disappointed click of his tongue, “Ah! It's as I feared. Don't you think it's a bit soon?” he asked, rhetorically.

“What's a bit soon?” Yunho demanded a little huffily, disliking the way Yoochun was speaking to him. His own parents would never have permitted Yunho to talk like this to anyone; whether he liked them or not. It irked him to hear someone else talking in a manner he himself would never use, like this; he was being so rude.

Yoochun gave a slight, disappointed shake of his head. “Don't tell me Jaejoong never told you why the two of us stopped being friends? Why he moved out of our apartment, and into yours?”

“He did.” Yunho responded stiffly, arms crossing defensively at the mocking tone Yoochun was using against him. “He says that you accused him of being in love with you.”

“Because he was.” Yoochun answered, simply. “You can't just say something like that. He wasn't in love with you, you can't provide any evidence to support such a claim.” Yunho returned, disliking all this talk about Jaejoong being in love with someone else.

“There's all sorts of evidence I could give you. The way he acted around me; being all friendly, and touchy feely. He always wanted to know everything about my life; where I was at every moment, who I was with. He was always doing stuff for me; sorting things out, putting them away for me, he even started cooking meals for me.” Yoochun answered, listing off each item on his fingers.

“That's not fair. That's just the kind of person Jaejoong is. He was being friendly and touchy feely with you, because he liked you; the two of you were best friends; you were close. He took an interest in what was going on with you, and wanted to do things for you for the same reason. And you should be grateful that he cooked you anything at all, he's a very talented cook.” Yunho responded, getting a little worked up; it felt like Jaejoong was coming under attack for who he was, and he didn't like it. It had always been Yunho's job to look out for Jaejoong when stuff like this happened, and now would be no exception, no matter who he was talking to.

Yoochun sent a pointed look Yunho's way, “Cooking? You seriously don't see anything a bit off with a tough, man's man like Jaejoong, trying to prepare a meal for another guy? That doesn't seem a little suss to you?”

“Not when it's Jaejoong. He's very good at it, but because people think it's odd, he doesn't let anyone know about his gift, unless he feels he can trust them. And the fact that he can cook doesn't make him any less of a tough guy. It makes him a real person, not some brainless 2D stereotype. He must have really cared for you.” Yunho argued, hating that he had to defend Jaejoong's cooking abilities.

Yoochun shrugged off the comment, eyes still glazed over with indifference, telling Yunho that his words in Jaejoong's defence had not sunk in. For a person whose eyes shone with such brilliant intelligence, his gaze was also clouded by the most idiotic of ignorance. It always amazed Yunho how paradoxes like those could exist in human beings.

“I could have handled all that. I was prepared to look the other way for those sorts of things, thinking perhaps it was as you say, just part of who he is. But that ignorance must have encouraged him. Not long after he began to make... advances towards me. That is where I had to draw the line. I had to put a stop to it.” Yoochun finished.

Yunho's expression morphed in confusion. What Yoochun said just didn't seem to fit with the Jaejoong he knew. Jaejoong seemed so shy, and Yunho couldn't say that anything about him screamed that he'd be a dominant force in any ual encounter. Everything about him, practically begged for someone else to take the lead with him. But maybe that was just Yunho's perspective? Maybe he was seeing what he wanted to see; the same timid, shy, awkward teenage boy he'd known? Maybe Jaejoong just didn't see him like that, and that's why he'd never seen him act like that?

Yoochun's features took on an arrogant look of pity crossed with amusement. How that boy managed to formulate so many expressions with only his eyes, Yunho had no idea. “This must be so hard for you, finding out your boyfriend, isn't as innocent as he appears. Were you hoping he saved himself for you, all these years, Yunho? Were you hoping that he had fallen in love with you back then, and never moved on, after you abandoned him?”

“You must have been so pleased the day he came crawling back to you. The day he decided to seek you out, when I made him leave the apartment. You must have thought it was the luckiest day of your life, getting him back. Did you miss having a lovestruck fool trailing after your every move, that much? How long did you wait before the two of you got together?” Yoochun continued.

Yunho didn't want to believe anything he said; he didn't want it to be true. But there was a part of him that thought those sorts of things. There was a part of him with these very same doubts and fears, and now someone was confirming them all. Even as he tried to reject them as untrue, they were expanding his mind. These new possibilities were taking up every bit of unoccupied space in Yunho's mind. He had to think through this. He had to work it all out for himself; it was the only way to be able to get rid of Yoochun's mocking words. And yet, he couldn't just walk away. He had to see through this conversation so that Jaejoong wouldn't be hurt by seeing the other man once again; he was doing this to protect him.

In some ways, he wished Yoochun had punched him instead. That would have been a lot easier to deal with than these words.

“There, there, you don't have to say anything. It must be quite hard hearing that the boy who professed his love for you, is on the rebound. That his feelings aren't real. But at the end of the day, it is him that is going to get hurt by all of this. What were you thinking getting involved with him? You knew he was on the rebound from his one-sided love affair with me. You knew he was vulnerable when you preyed on him. Do you just enjoy hurting him, Yunho? Because that's the only possible explanation I can see for your actions.” Yoochun asked.

“No, of course not. I love Jaejoong. I don't want to hurt him.” Yunho answered defensively. “You hurt him once before, why not do it a second time?” Yoochun countered.

“Why are you doing this? What do you care about Jaejoong's feelings? You erased him from your life in an instant; on a whim. You cruelly crushed any feelings he might've had for you, you're no better than me.” Yunho tossed back, harshly. Yoochun's words made him bitter at all the truth he could see in those accusations; but he couldn't allow himself to be completely broken down by the other boy. He couldn't.

“I may not have returned his feelings, but I still care about him. And we will never be equals. You hurt him far more with your actions, than I ever could with mine. You turned his whole world upside down, me, I just tilted it's axis a little.” Yoochun answered, tone accusatory. He sighed, “Look, I didn't come here to argue with you, about who has screwed Jaejoong up more. I just want you to think about what you're doing. After all you've already put him through; after all you're continuing to put him through, don't put him though anymore nonsense on your behalf. If you really care about Jaejoong then you'll let him go. You'll end this relationship of yours, and you'll stop messing with him.” Yoochun finished, turning on his heel at those parting words, and walking away.

Yunho was left standing in front of the door to their classroom, but he was in a daze. He had so many accusations burning in his mind, he felt sick at the thought that they were true. He didn't want to be there anymore.

He couldn't remember feeling this bad, since the day he'd left Jaejoong, the first time. Even if Yoochun had been completely honest with him, and it were in Jaejoong's best interests to let him go again, could he really survive letting the older man go for a second time?

- -

Jaejoong was in a surprisingly good mood as he made his way over to his Chinese History class. He was looking forward to a break from his maths units and Chemistry classes, but more importantly than that, he was looking forward to seeing Yunho. After he'd decided the two of them should go out and do something, he'd been thinking really hard; only distractedly taking notes for his classes.

But all that effort had paid off; he had finally come up with something that the two of them could do that they would enjoy doing, he was sure. Back when they were younger, Yunho had loved playing video games of all sorts. So, as his proposed bonding experience, he figured, he could take Yunho out to an arcade he knew, not far from the university.

Unfortunately, the Yunho he spied outside his Chinese History classroom, seemed to be in anything but a good mood. His face was awash with a multitude of emotions; none of them good. Jaejoong couldn't be sure if he was angry, or sad, and yet neither of those words did that look justice. He seemed so helpless, so filled with despair; his eyes gazing out in a blank daze.

He looked beyond Yunho, and spied a familiar, retreating form he wished he wasn't so used to seeing. He frowned to himself at the situation, not really sure what had happened before he arrived, or if he'd get any answers if he tried asking. Still, it was better to try, right?

“Yunho? Was that Yoochun I just saw?” he queried. Yunho nodded, but though his focus was on Jaejoong; his eyes locked onto him, Jaejoong could see that his mind was somewhere else. Probably still reeling from the conversation he'd shared with the other boy. “What did he say to you?” he probed, but it was clear he wasn't going to get any answers.

Jaejoong sighed as the two of them walked into their classroom. He hadn't really wanted to go to the arcade today anyway.