There were two main things that Jaejoong remembered the most vividly from that night, and one of those was the hands.

                Those soft hands that had met his under the table as he laughed loudly with the rest of the group at the table. The waiter had brought another round of drinks, but he subconsciously decided that his head was spinning enough. Instead, he ignored the roaring of his tablemates and attempted to focus on those hands. Her hands. Warm, with paint covering her short nails. The way her thumbs trembled in his palms. Her hands were all he had to hold, for she couldn’t even hold his gaze. But this just made him more intrigued, craving even more of her.

                “There’s a room upstairs,” someone whispered into his ear before throwing him a wink. But Jaejoong had decided that this girl wasn’t about that. That wasn’t the kind of attention he was wanting from her. He wanted this night to go differently. He just didn’t know how.

                It started with him pulling those hands with him out the side door of the bar. Their eyes had still yet to meet, and Jaejoong was determined to change that. He got her under the streetlight and studied her entirety for the first time.

                It wasn’t just her hands. Her entire body was covered in the softest skin, almost like silk. Every joint, spot, and crevice in her skin seemed perfectly sculpted and painted. Her fluffy pink dress barely reached her knees, and it sparkled each time she nervously shifted her weight. Even though the weather was chilly, she wore a pair of sandals, her toes wiggling to stay warm. Her hair was a luscious river of gold, tumbling down to her waist. And Jaejoong watched it sway as she turned her head to look at anything but him. He still wanted so much more. He bit his lip and squeezed her hands.

                “Hey.”

                And that one word was enough to lift her head. Enough to get those soft, shining orbs she had for eyes to focus on his. And Jaejoong was instantly mesmerized. All at once, he saw the ocean, the sky, the stars and the sun. The blues and the greens. The future and the past. It was as if he was a thousand times wiser, a million times richer. Happier than he’d ever been in his life. And a bright smile graced his face.

                But then it was gone. The eyes had shifted, her whole body as well, as her teeth clung tightly to her bottom lip. Jaejoong panicked. “Hey. Hey. Hey!” But there was nothing. Nothing but the look of distress on her face.

                She’s afraid of me, Jaejoong concluded. He stepped back a bit, letting her have some space. But she didn’t seem to be going anywhere. Instead, she started shaking, and Jaejoong panicked again, taking back those soft, shaky hands.

                “Are you okay?” When no answer came and he realized that she might not even speak Korean, he bit his lip and pulled her toward his chest.

                Her shoulder hit his torso with a muffled thud as he embraced her. She gasped as Jaejoong wrapped his arms around her. But then there was silence. It was as if she had lost her ability to breathe. It was as if she would never breathe again.

                “Hajim—don’t do that!” Jaejoong pleaded, praying that his poor English skills would come through for him. But still, the girl didn’t breathe. Without any thinking, Jaejoong did the only thing he could think of. He pulled her back and pressed his lips to hers.

                Immediately, her face became the color of her dress. And though she was breathing again, quite sharply through her nose, Jaejoong couldn’t bear to pull away. Their eyes remained locked, wide open, and once again, Jaejoong was overwhelmed with that incredible feeling. But it was different this time; stronger. He felt a warm tingle in his spine. He felt as if he were…flying. Like he had suddenly sprouted wings and was now soaring higher than anyone had ever been before. And yet, his breathing was even. His skin was free of perspiration. And his heart…it was beating regularly. But hers wasn’t, as Jaejoong could feel it through the hand that was planted firmly on her waist. Through the longest minute of his life, he felt as if his heart didn’t matter at the time…there was only hers.

                A loud shout drew the two apart, a two-syllable calling that Jaejoong thought was Spanish. But he was probably wrong. She seemed to understand, though, as she became fidgety. She turned to Jaejoong, moving ever so slightly as if she had something to say. But instead she turned around and hurried off in the opposite direction, leaving Jaejoong to just watch as she disappeared.

                And that was the second thing he remembered so clearly: that one kiss.

                “I kissed a girl,” Jaejoong said sheepishly into the phone as he nervously glanced about the dark house.

                There was momentary silence on the other side as Yunho gathered his thoughts. “Okay. Do I know her?”

                “I don’t even know her!” Jaejoong chuckled. “I met her at a bar. She was a foreigner.”

                More silence. Then, Yunho took a deep breath. “Alright. Tell me everything.”

                And Jaejoong did. He told Yunho about her hands. About the way her dress sparkled in the streetlight. About her endless mass of golden hair. About her life-changing eyes. About the look on her face. About her ceasing breath. About her kiss. That one, earth-shattering, uplifting kiss.

                “You make her out to be some goddess,” Yunho remarked.

                “I think she’s an angel,” Jaejoong answered honestly. “Seriously. I’m pretty sure I’ll never see her again, and that’s only because she was obviously called back to heaven to continue on with her duties.”

                Yunho hummed in response. “Do you want to see her again?”

                “I doubt I’d ever get the chance.”

                “Did you fall in love with her?”

                It was a tough question in anyone’s eyes, but Jaejoong just simply smiled, confident with his response.

                “No.”

                Yunho seemed taken aback by this answer, and he tried several times to speak before finally succeeding. “…But you seem like you did.”

                “That’s just the thing,” Jaejoong explained, his smile widening. “I didn’t fall for her. Usually people who kiss automatically fall for that bout of lust that comes with the act. But for me, my breathing didn’t speed up, my heart didn’t skip beats. And that was because I wasn’t focused on my own feelings…I was focused on hers. I could tell she was already in love with me; just by the way she looked at me. By the way her kiss felt. By the way she acted like she wanted to run away. How can someone be in love with me if they’ve never met me before? I’m telling you. She’s an angel.”

                Yunho laughed then, causing Jaejoong to chuckle too. “Jae, you have always been the most profound person I have ever met.”

                “I have to go. Manager-ssi is home. Goodnight, Yunho.”

                Jaejoong lay across his bed, his hands folded behind his head as he smiled up at the ceiling. It wasn’t that he didn’t ever want to see the girl again, but he kind of wished that he wouldn’t. It was one experience, one night that would forever be in his memory. And to just have that one memory was enough for him. A great story to be retold. But something that was enough being only a one-shot.

                One kiss, Jaejoong thought to himself, chuckling. What a line.

                And before it could get away from him, he hurried with his inspiration into the next room. “Manager-ssi. I have this great idea for my album…”

~~~~~

"Shippers think that every song Jaejoong writes is about Yunho.
I'd like to believe they're actually about my best friend."

Wrote this during school today. My hands are cramping.

Happy birthday, Vannah~