Chapter 9

Yunho walks inside his apartment. Today his apartment doesn’t look as annoying as three days ago. He looks at the granite floor. Is it because it's clean? Siwan was cleaning the apartment yesterday. Is it because the pretty sky that welcoming sunset Yunho can see from his window? Is it because it's been awhile he has a bit time before off to bed? Well, it's only been three days since the additional classes, the mountain of homeworks, and he barely has time to sleep at night. Is it because of…

“Yunnie, I ordered your favorite ramen,” Kim Jaejoong walks passed him to show him his phone, screen displaying delicious looking ramen. “Do you want to make it spicy?”

Yunho blinks once behind his spectacles. Kim Jaejoong is standing in front of his living room, silky blonde hair framing his flawless face, looks so fluffy wrapped in his warm clothes holding out his phone with doe eyes waiting for Yunho’s reply. Damn after all these years, Yunho has to surrender to 99% university crowd’s opinion that Kim Jaejoong is indeed beautiful.

“Um… Yunho?”

Jaejoong is a bit conscious with Yunho’s eyes on him. What’s wrong with Yunho? He never stares at him like that. Slowly a nerve creeps up his spine. Yunho looks strange since this evening. He looks different. Did his additional classes drain too much of his energy? Or did his fight didn’t only hurt his jaw but also his head? But his stares give Jaejoong a bit insecure waves. Is it him? Is there something on his face? Jaejoong slowly averts his eyes toward his clothes. Is it something on his clothes?

But his thought quickly dissolves into fogs when suddenly Yunho grabs his hand. The involuntary gasps leave his lips, because the taller man doesn’t only grab his hand but also pulls Jaejoong toward the nerd. Jaejoong blinks repeatedly, shocked by the sudden touch and the closeness. He looks up to the same troubled eyes looking back at him. For a couple of seconds they are staring at each other’s eyes, drowning yet confused. Both can't lie that it's been awhile to have the other so close like this.

(Autho Chii: Whaddaya mean been awhile?? It's only thee damn days!)

“Let me take a look,” Yunho says, quickly averts his eyes to the black device.

“…eung…” Jaejoong nods nervously. What’s wrong. Something feels different. They are so awkward right now.

Yunho glances at the shorter man, Jaejoong looks so nervous somehow. The atmosphere feels weird. They used to be inseparable. Kim Jaejoong used to latch himself on Yunho’s arm whenever, the blonde use to walk around Yunho’s apartment in only his top without his pants on. They used to snuggle every evening while watching tv. They used to sleep together in the same bed. Why it's only take three days to make them strangers.

Yunho clears his throat. “You only ordered one? You will not eat?”

The galaxy is beautiful but Yunho is so gone when Jaejoong’s face brightens up with twinkles in his eyes. “You mean you want me to stay for dinner?”

At that Yunho frowns. “What did I say about my apartment is not a hotel, Kim?”

“Well…” Jaejoong breathes out softly in relief and it doesn’t slip from Yunho’s eyes. The Queen tucks a hair behind his ear nervously, afraid to cross a line Yunho clearly stated three days ago. “…I just thought… maybe you are tired and… want to rest without… much disturbance?”

“I never feels so disrespected in my life,” Yunho states, hopes Jaejoong takes it as a joke. “You think you can stay here as long as you want, sleep on my bed as much as you want, live here as if it's your apartment then suddenly you were gone? Leaving me all alone with no words, not even a text?”

“…I-I…” Jaejoong’s heart does a flip flop. Did Yunho miss him? Is that mean Yunho’s answer three days ago didn’t mean he hates to be near Jaejoong? Is that mean he can stay? “I—uh…sorry…”

Yunho looks away. “Whatever. Here, order your portion as well. Do you want some chicken too?”

“Oh, yeah. Sure,” Jaejoong looks up, doe eyes look so pretty and… , Yunho is so ed up. “Yangyeom with almond your favorite,” Jaejoong brings his lithe finger to the device, and Yunho can't help to think how pretty his finger is. UGH!

“How about you? Which one is your favorite?” Yunho scans the menu once again, tries not to staring at the beauty too long.

“Your favorite always my favorite too,” Jaejoong looks up and—!—that smile is so blinding. “Beside, I'm not that good with foods these days,” Jaejoong adds with a frown on his forehead.

That picks Yunho’s attention. “What? You didn’t eat well these days?”

Jaejoong flashes a puppy eyes at Yunho’s scolding tone. “Well… I don’t feel good these past three days and…”

Yunho didn’t hear the rest of Jaejoong’s murmurs. His heart beats uncontrollably at that. Jaejoong feels bad these three days too? Did their hearts yearn to each other without them knowing? Because of Changmin’s joke and—yeah, well—Yunho’s stupid answer, he may or maybe not hurt Jaejoong in some way. Which one Yunho can't tell, but after the blonde flew away from him for three days, it's pretty tell Yunho that his answer back then wasn’t right. He shouldn’t comment about gay people. He shouldn’t group Jaejoong into that category. Or he shouldn’t say how disgust himself at the thought that he and Jaejoong is in relationship. He should just keep his mouth shut.

But wait, if my opinion which is disgust about me and Jaejoong in relationship hurts him, is that mean…

Yunho sits up straight, staring at the blonde. His brain going haywire he doesn’t know how long he is staring that it starts to makes Jaejoong uncomfortable.

“Sorry, what?” Yunho shakes his head, tries to get a grip of his thought.

“I said you should rest. I will wake you up once the foods arrived,”

Yunho doesn’t want to sleep alone. He might wake up with Jaejoong is gone already. “Nah, I'm good. I don’t trust you alone in my apartment. I don’t want to find chocolate chips on the floor, got it?”

At that Jaejoong giggles. ing giggle. And the sound is so ing cute. And the blonde is ing pretty covering his mouth like that. And poor little Yunho can't take his eyes off the Queen. Yunho knew he is sooo damn ed up in the head. And in the heart.

“Ah that reminds me. It's been three days I haven’t eat those chocolate chips,”

“Good for you. Don’t go die from diabetes because of it,” Yunho tries unaffected by the pretty sight.

“Why? Siwan sshi is not coming today?” Jaejoong looks around, noting the super clean living room. He missed the frowns that appear on Yunho’s forehead.

“His schedule is tomorrow,” Yunho answers curtly, doesn’t like the fact that Jaejoong remembers his admirer’s name. That’s the first. “Why? Why you are looking for him?”

The tone along with the question came out pretty harsh. Yunho doesn’t mean it that way but he can't help it. First Jaejoong looks interested in Siwan’s cooking. Now the thought that Jaejoong acknowledges his admirer, even remembers his name, doesn’t sit well with Yunho. So what if Siwan is here now? What Jaejoong wants to do? Chat with him? Getting to know him? When he sees Jaejoong’s expression, he stops his mouth to spit the unspoken questions.

Jaejoong is looking at him, alerts. He thinks Yunho is a bit sensitive with the topic, about two boys close enough. Jaejoong is scared. Maybe Yunho’s answers to Changmin’s questions three days ago are his real feeling after all. That Yunho is homophobic. That Yunho is so against the thought being together with a man. That Yunho hates to be so close to him. With him…

“Uh… nothing…” Quickly looks down, Jaejoong doesn’t want the latter to read any of his feeling right now. Because to be honest, that maybe these three days Jaejoong is learning something about his heart.

The tall man of the two glances at the blonde beside him. It's not like Jaejoong to sit still like that. He usually takes off his bottom, leaving him only wear his tops, pajama, or Yunho’s loose shirt with brief only, lying leisurely on the sofa, showing off his pretty legs. He usually talks about his daily life, about new café he found interesting, about ideas of hanging out together with Yunho. Jaejoong usually all over him, touching him, snuggle against him, straddle him, anything a spoiled girlfriend usually do with their lover. So to have a silent Jaejoong here sitting docilely beside him is a bit strange.

Yunho is curious what Jaejoong is thinking. What is swimming in that pretty little head of his. Why isn’t he touching Yunho yet. Why is he so nervous to be around Yunho. But the tall nerd is so prideful he can't bring himself to ask. So he does the first thing that crosses his mind.

“Ugh,”

And right as he expected, Jaejoong is so alarmed at his condition. “What’s wrong, Yunho? Your jaw hurts? Let me see,”

Yunho holds himself from smiling. “No, but——” He fakes a hiss. “It still throbs like ,”

“Wait here, I will take an ice pack to cool the bruise,” Jaejoong runs to the kitchen, leaves the vanilla scent in the air. Yunho eyes the man in tweed jacket. Jaejoong is so adorable that way. It feels been awhile since—

(Author Chii: HEEYY~~)

—he is staring at the beauty like this. Jaejoong is back with the ice pack then sit on his previous seat. “Here, let me… oh,” He is about to press the ice pack on Yunho’s bruised jaw but stopped himself. He doesn’t want Yunho to hate him more. So he gives the pack instead. “Umm… here,”

Yunho doesn’t like how Jaejoong retreats from him, but he can't say it out loud that he wants Jaejoong to take care of him. It sound like baby and so not Yunho. So the nerd only leans his head back to the head rest and closes his eyes, counts to 5 seconds before opens his eyes again, finding Jaejoong is staring at him questioningly.

“What at you staring at? Waiting for my jaw to break?”

“…no…” Jaejoong bites his lower lips. Shy that Yunho indirectly gives him permission to touch him.

Yunho leans back and closes his eyes, waiting for the slight cold touch plants on his jaw. His jaw doesn’t sting, it only numbs a little but it actually doesn’t hurt. Of course he can't tell Jaejoong that. Not when he looks so worry and touches him feather like. It takes minutes and Yunho slowly gets drowsy with Jaejoong’s care. Being an understanding little fairy, Jaejoong takes off Yunho’s eyeglasses carefully, thinking that the taller man is falling asleep. Yunho opens his eyes to meet a startled Jaejoong, face so close to his.

“I-I thought uh… I only… your glasses… sleep,” Jaejoong quickly puts his eye glasses on the table and sits a good distance from the taller man. He glances that Yunho isn’t saying anything so he might be angry. “S-sorry,”

Before Yunho can grabs Jaejoong’s hand, the doorbell rings. Jaejoong murmurs something like ‘foods’ and flees to the front door. Yunho groans as he sits straight. He doesn’t like the strain distance Jaejoong puts between them. He doesn’t like the blonde doesn’t snuggle or touch him. He doesn’t like the blonde being away from him. And he slowly gets impatient. And this is happening because of his stupid mouth.

They eat in silence. Jaejoong nervously mumbling about wanting to watch his idol news and turns on the tv. Another way so he doesn’t need to talk to Yunho or do something stupid like snuggle against Yunho’s chest. Something that he really wants to do since the first time he steps inside the apartment. After they finished eating and Jaejoong offers to help cleaning up the boxes, Yunho is looking at him weirdly. Well, Jaejoong is hardly doing chores before. But hey he wants to be in Yunho’s good book so why not?

“So, Yunho are you sure you didn’t need to see doctor or take a pain killer maybe?” Jaejoong asks to Yunho who just walks out the bathroom. They are inside Yunho’s bedroom, Jaejoong was placing the new pajamas for the latter before he leaves.

“Nah, the punch is barely a mosquito bites for me,” The nerd waves his hands dismissively. He walks to the bed, really wants to sleep for hours before the next day comes.

“Alright,” Jaejoong says, suddenly feels so heavy to walk out. “Uh… then, rest well. You have extra classes tomorrow too. Don’t stay up late,”

Yunho furrows his eyebrows when Jaejoong turns away to leave. His body reacts first before his mind and mouth do. He grabs Jaejoong’s upper arm, startling the blonde and himself. “Wait… where are you going?”

It takes seconds for Jaejoong looking at the taller man in the eyes. “Home?”

“What do you mean home? You are not staying?” Yunho yanks the shorter man closer to his chest, makes Jaejoong’s eyes widen. The blonde opens his mouth to answer but he can't find a word. “How many times I told you my apartment is not a ing hotel?”

“I-I…” Jaejoong stutters, the grip on his arm is hurt, his blood rush to his face, his body turns stoic, but the erratic beats of his heart beats them all. “You…are tired aa-and…I don’t w-want to bother,”

“Bother me?” Yunho repeats in disbelieve but then he remembers the curry café incident three days ago. He is about to burst but when he locks eyes with the doe eyes, his heart slowing down. Right, this is his fault. “Jaejoong, listen. I'm sorry for uh… well, three days ago, in the café… my answers…”

Jaejoong looks away. He knew that this is about that. Now they are knew that Yunho’s answer is the cause of their separation. Now they assured that Jaejoong indeed feels hurt by Yunho’s perspective about same relationship. But Jaejoong isn’t ready to face it. Yes these past three days thought him about his feeling toward Yunho. But he keeps telling himself that Yunho is only a friend and this is not love he is feeling.

“I just… well… I was in the most society about same relationship… I am… but… I don’t think they are disgusting or…” Yunho struggles. . He is not used to be this soft.

“Oh, look at the time!” Jaejoong turns to clock wall, doesn’t want to look at Yunho in the eyes. “I need to go—”

Yunho doesn’t let go when Jaejoong wiggles, tries to get out of his grip. “Jaejoong ah, listen to me!”

“Go to sleep, Yunho,”

“I won't let go if you don’t listen!”

“I won't bother anymore so…”

Yunho’s grip wavers a bit when he takes a glimpse of Jaejoong’s watery eyes. He is a bit late to respond when Jaejoong wiggles away and runs to the door. Yunho’s long legs and arms catch the distant quite immediate. That’s how the brunette reaches out Jaejoong’s skinny shoulder, turns him around and wraps his arms around the latter’s slim waist. Jaejoong startles at the sudden movement and his heart almost stopped when he finds himself was thrown to the sturdy chest with hard muscles arms wrapped around him.

“Don’t go,”

Jaejoong stares wide eyes at the white shirt in front of him, tear is about to drop. Did he hear it right? Did Yunho just ask him to stay? Is that mean it is okay to be by Yunho’s side again? Jaejoong isn’t a cry baby but that moment his heart is so weak and this past three days he was emotionally tired so he sob then crying for real. Hands clutch on Yunho’s back, Jaejoong doesn’t care if he looks ugly or anything.

They are standing near t