Jaejoong picked up his phone and put the receiver to his ear. "Yes father."

            "I am running fifteen minutes late. Order something first."

            Jaejoong looked at the menu on the table. It was put in a felt folder decorated with golden ribbons and fancy writing. "Was there anything that you wanted sir?"

            "Get me a carbonara with prawns." The man said through the phone.

            "Yes sure, I will ask them to reduce the amount of cream as well."

            "I see your memories are somewhat still intact." 

            "I only wish you good health, father." Jaejoong said monotonously. He knew his father had to control what he ate. "I'll tell them to bring it out when you arrive so that it's kept warm for you."

            His father cleared his throat on the other end and then hung up. 

            Jaejoong's phone beeped straight after the call had ended and he picked it up once again. "Hello?"

            "Jaejoong." He could hear terror on the other end.

            "Narin, what's wrong?" Jaejoong grew worried.

            "It's the detainee you kept in the basement." She began. "I went to give him his dinner, but he's gone."

            Jaejoong shot up in that instant, rattling the dinner table loudly. He was about to dash towards the scene but knew better of it when he saw numerous heads turned his way. When he had composed himself, Jaejoong bowed low to his audience. "I apologize for my misbehaviour. Please continue with your meal."

            The people in the restaurant admired his courtesy and resumed their dinner. 

            Jaejoong's voice lowered when he sat down. "Narin, I need you to leave everything untouched. I will send over a few people to investigate it."

            Jaejoong ended the call after that and immediately entered a number on his phone. He waited impatiently for the other end to pick up and when they did, he spoke before they could utter a word. "I need you to go to my house right now and look out for a strange man. Find out how he could have escaped and if he's not on the property, try to locate his whereabouts. Narin will give you more information about what he looks like."

            Jaejoong squeezed the sides of his neck to calm himself down. How could he have possibly escaped?

            "Would you like to order now sir?" The waiter had approached his table. 

            Jaejoong looked up at him, a little confused. 

            "I see that you haven't ordered yet." His father had arrived. Jaejoong realised that he had completely forgotten about his previous task. His father turned to the waiter and gave him a light smile. "I would like a carbonara with prawns. Please reduce the amount of cream in that. As for him, get him a veal lasagna. We shall order drinks later.” His father sat down.

            "What is wrong Jaejoong?" His father asked once the waiter had left. 

            "Lanky's gone. I don't know how but he's gone." Jaejoong said, glaring at his father.

            His father returned with a sudden realisation. "Do you think that I would have something to do with this?" 

            "Honestly, I do." Jaejoong felt a little agitated. "Why would he suddenly escape out of nowhere?”

            "I thought you said he was skilled, judging by the way you dealt with him?" His father questioned him instead. 

            "And my father wants nothing but the best." Jaejoong retorted, silencing the elder man. "If you're not keeping to your word, then I won't keep to mine either."

            His father gave him a daring glare and Jaejoong tried not to falter at the sudden intimidation. He leaned in and scrutinised the boy. "You love her, don't you?"

            Jaejoong blinked twice quickly and then tried to compose himself. "No, I don't." He spoke as confidently as possible. 

            His father gave him a malicious grin. "Are you sure?"

            "Positive." Jaejoong said sternly. There was no way that he was going to let his father know his weaknesses. He couldn't trust his father just yet.

        His father took in Jaejoong's reply and leaned back onto the back of his chair. "I see."    

        During the whole dinner, Jaejoong was looking at his phone. When his father went to use the restroom, Jaejoong quickly shot a text. He looked at his the screen's background image. It was a photo of Minni on the day they had built a snowman in her backyard. "Please be okay, Minni." Jaejoong prayed.

            "Yunho, why don't you have any medicine at your place?" Kimmi muttered under her breath. She had come over on the last day of school to check on him. Again, Yunho was absent for the last week of school before the holidays had begun. Changmin was with her, just in case she couldn't get in again like last time. Yoochun, for once wasn't by her side. Yoochun's absence made her feel uncomfortable but she brushed it off and took in what was most important. Yunho was in terrible shape.

        "Sis, I have to head off to work soon." Changmin called from the living room. "Are you done yet? I think we should just leave him."

        "No." Kimmi cried. "I need to at least wipe him down."

        "Well, you can stay here on your own." Changmin walked into the bathroom. "I'll try to finish my shift early and return here. Stay here, okay?"

         Kimmi looked at Yunho sleeping lifelessly on the couch. She reluctantly nodded. The grimness in her eyes were so evident, even Changmin could see it.

         Changmin patted her two shoulders. How skinny she had gotten in the past week. "It'll be okay. Yunho will be okay." He gave her an encouragement then left. 

         The water bowl was warm, the towels smelt clean. Kimmi noticed that Yunho was wearing exactly the same clothes as the last time she had visited him. She sighed at the sight but did her best to nurse him. "Yunho, please get better. Everyone is worried about you." She murmured. 

         Yunho stirred in his sleep and Kimmi paused. "I'll come back." His speech slurred but Kimmi could make it out. 

         Kimmi smiled. "Of course you will, you will always come back to us."

        "Always." Yunho mimicked her. His brow creased a little and then slowly, his eyes opened. Yunho looked around and spotted the girl in front of him. "Kimmi?"

        Kimmi didn't intend to act so nervous around him but it was just the two of them and he was awake. "We grew worried because you weren't going to school for the past week or so." She squeaked. 

        Yunho sat up, a hand was clapped tight on his forehead. "I see." 

        "How are you feeling?"

         "I've got a slight hangover." Yunho admitted.

        "I'll get you a cup of water." Kimmi rushed off before Yunho could say anything.

        Yunho sat in silence reminiscing the dream he had just awoken from. 

        Kimmi returned with a cup of water and Yunho thanked her kindly. "You really like Minni, don't you?

        Yunho smiled sheepishly. "You can tell?"

        Kimmi nodded. Her fists clenched tightly on the hem of her school skirt. "For what it's worth, I thought that you and Minni would make a better couple than Jaejoong."

        Yunho's smile faltered a little. "I thought so too." His grip hardened on the glass he was holding. He turned to Kimmi and tried to force a smile but at that same time, his eyes watered and he found himself shamelessly crying. 

        The sight before Kimmi just broke her heart. Without a second thought, she wrapped her arms around him, hiding the look of despair on his face from her. 

        "I was too arrogant." Yunho sulked. "I thought that she would always love me too. I didn't think that she would turn me down. I didn't think it would hurt this bad."

        Kimmi his hair gently. 

         "What do I do?" Yunho wailed helplessly.

        Kimmi pushed back her tears. "There are only two things to do: to move on or continue to love her. The smart choice would be to move on of course. But love can make us stupid sometimes. Sometimes we feel that what would be most satisfying would be to hang on and hope that one day, they would come to love us back. Unfortunately, we can't make this decision."

        Kimmi peeled herself away from Yunho. She could see in his red eyes, that her eyes were just as bad as his. Out of her pocket, she took out a phone. Yunho's eyes widened when he realised that it was his own. Kimmi ignored the slight shock in his eyes and without breaking her glance at him, she unlocked the phone and handed it back to him. "So tell me, Yunho, what will you choose?"

        Yunho knew that he had to look at his phone screen. He did it without a second thought. He saw that it was a message from yesterday. It was from none other than Jaejoong. The message read:

        Minni is in danger. Keep an eye on her.

        Yunho shot up, grabbed his keys and wallet and bolted out of the apartment, leaving Kimmi all alone. Kimmi chuckled miserably. Her tears were streaming down her face at this point. "I knew that you would do that."

                        "I can't believe that you work here." Hana looked around the pub and then at Changmin who was standing behind the counter mixing drinks. "You do know that you and I are underaged right?"

            "You know what you don't know?" Changmin poured out a drink into a cup. "My uncle owns this bar so I can do whatever I want." He gave her a perfect smile.

            Hana eyed him for a moment. "So you can do that too."

            "Do what?"

            "Nothing." Hana tried not to meet his eye.

            "I am not even going to try and guess what you're thinking. I never get it right." Changmin began and handed her the cup. "A martini for you, free of charge." 

            "Thank you but I don't drink alcohol." Hana said.

            "Are you after anything non-alcoholic then?" Changmin was slightly shocked that she didn't drink.

            "Lemon lime bitters." She suggested.

            Changmin beamed at her. "That is a fine choice. I'll be right back." He whipped to the back to grab it.

            "Can I buy you a drink?" Hana heard a voice from behind her that seemed dangerously close.

            She looked behind her to see a strange man eyeing her. "No thanks, my friend is already getting me one."

            "I'm sorry, that can't be right." The man retorted, his smile was quite terrifying. "I have seen that all night you have been alone."

            "You do know that you sound like a creep when you say that, don't you?" Hana twisted her stool to be face to face with the man.

            "I don't think it's creepy at all." The man leaned forward and Hana felt hips press on the counter behind her. "More like, I found that you stood out here in this pub."

            "Back off." 

            The man grabbed a part of her hair instead. "So soft."

            "Don't touch me!" Hana pulled her hair back.

            He did not listen and grabbed both of her arms. His head tilted forward. "Did you just shower? You smell good."

            "Well, you reek of alcohol." She hissed at him. She was already trying to pull him off but was unsuccessful. "Let go of me while I'm being nice."

            The man only chuckled and Hana started to feel powerless. "What can you do? What I am doing now is perfectly normal in this club." He sneered at her.

            "Let go of me, you bastard!" Hana at that moment felt terrified. She really didn't know what to do anymore except to cry out.

            At that moment, she heard the splash of water. The man released her and turned around only to be face to face with Changmin. Hana eyed the wetness on the back of the stranger's shirt and looked to the empty glass in Changmin's hand. Her ordered drink had been wasted on this scoundrel. 

            The stranger cussed out loud. "Do you know how much this was?" He referred to his shirt.

            "Well, I'm sorry. You really should have let her go." Changmin stated without an ounce of fear in his voice.

            "You're just a bartender, what right do you have to treat a customer this way?" 

            Changmin's face showed no fright. He strolled past the ert and yanked Hana away from the man, securing her behind him. "You're just a bastard, what right do you have to treat my girlfriend this way?"

            Hana gaped at Changmin's comeback. Changmin didn't lose his focus. The man showed no sign of backing off either. He aimed a punch at the younger boy but Changmin quickly extended his leg and kicked the man, knocking him unconscious.

            Hana waited nervously in the office whilst Changmin dragged the unconscious man out of the club. She was heated at what he had just said. Changmin walked in coolly after some time, acting as if nothing had happened. "I'm sorry that you had to go through all of that. I should have kept you here where you would be safer." Tired, he took a seat across from her. 

            She didn't want to ask why he had named her his girlfriend earlier so she decided to change the topic. "So why did you call me out here?"

            Changmin's expression started to change and Hana could see that he was very stressed. "If I confessed to Minni, would she reject me?" 

            Hana felt hurt but decided to respond honestly. "Yes she will, because she loves Jaejoong."

            "What?!" Changmin exclaimed. "No way! But Jaejoong doesn't deserve her. He causes trouble everyday. He does things to Minni that she is uncomfortable with!"

            Again, Hana was angered by Changmin's response. She could not understand how he couldn't see the kind of person Jaejoong truly was. "Jaejoong isn't a bad person. Stop talking about him in that way."

            Changmin scoffed. "When will your foolish love for him stop? Kimmi already told me all the he did to you. And you love him so much too."

            "You don't know anything about him. How would you know? Your psychology skills !" Hana yelled at him.

            "I do not . I'll tell you what I see." Changmin leaned in. "I see a feverish Yunho being nursed by my sister because of Minni's rejection. I see my sister crying because she is overly concerned about Yunho. I see Yoochun watching hopelessly from the sidelines as Kimmi tends to Yunho. And lastly, I see you, completely entrapped and blinded by Jaejoong's dark spell. Can't you see that everyone around you is suffering because of him? Wake up already, Hana!" 

            "You're the one whose blind!" Hana bit her lip and glared at him. "You see nothing. Yes, everyone is suffering. But how is it all Jaejoong's fault? Is it Kimmi's fault that Yoochun loves her? Is Yunho's fault that Kimmi loves him? Is Minni to blame for Yunho's love for her? Do you blame Minni for loving her so much?"

            Hana's voice began to falter and Changmin was looking at her, not uttering anything. So she continued. "You would be pathetic if you blamed her. I would feel pathetic if I said that it was all your fault that I love you so much. So, I can only blame myself for falling in love with a blinded jerk like you!"

            Shock and sadness consumed Changmin. He eyed the water in her eyes. She was willing them not to escape. Without thinking, he brushed her hair behind her ear, then her cheek gently. He really didn't like it when she cried. Slowly, he tilted in and placed his lips on hers, giving her a soft kiss. She didn't resist it but Changmin pulled away after realising what he had done. The shock in him only augmented. "I'm sorry." He muttered not meeting her eye. "I didn't know why I did that."

            Hana's heart was completely crushed at that point. He had kissed her but he didn't love her. Her hand slapped him across the face. She stood up, towering before him. "You're pathetic!" She cried and ran out before he could see her tears fall. 

                        I spent the next few days cooped up in my room. I still did the chores but only when no one was around. There wasn't much to do. The house was pretty clean these days.

            Junsu and Hana were not speaking to me again. It was obvious that they both knew my past and who I really was. What had happened to me. I felt a chill as I once again reminded myself of the death of my parents. I guess that they couldn't comprehend this new piece of information. I didn't mind too much. I needed time too. 

            A sudden vibration erupted from my phone. I looked at the contact name. The snowflake emoticon on the screen warmed my heart. It was Jaejoong. 

            What do you do if you can't sleep? He wrote. 

            I thought about the times when I woke up from a nightmare. What did I do after that? Having bad dreams? I wrote back.

            He wrote back after some time. Not at all. 

            Why can't you sleep then?

            The phone startled me when it began to vibrate in my hand. Jaejoong was calling. I anxiously picked it up. "Hello?"

            There was no sound on the other side. I waited a bit but he didn't speak. "Goodnight Jaejoong." I clearly didn't want to be rude like him. 

            Before I pulled the phone from my ear, Jaejoong spoke. "Keep talking."

            "Jaejoong, is something wrong?" I asked.

            "Nothing's wrong." I heard him mumble on the other end.

            "You sound pretty sleepy to me." 

            Jaejoong groaned. "Just stay on the line until I fall sleep."

            "No." I said immediately.

            "Please." He muttered. "Please stay on."

            A smile tugged on my lips. He remembered to use his manners. "Quickly get to bed then." I decided to fish out my text books from my bag. I pulled out a newspaper along with it and quickly remembered meeting Mr. Seungheon the other day. He said his son was featured in this paper. A bit curious, I searched the paper one page at a time. It didn't take me long to find the article he was referring to. I read the article.

A prodigy returns to Seoul

Kim Seungheon's son has returned from his three year dormancy to again help the police force and continue his medical degree at Seoul university. Kim Jaejoong was renowned for his achievements a few years ago such as mastering taekwondo at the age of 10 years of age, completing high school at the age of 15 and for his marvellous aid in the police force since he was 9. "He started out quite troublesome." His father, a high authoritative police chief commissioner, stated. "But he has improved exceptionally."

Jaejoong was brought up by a single father. Believing that he might have had the intuition to walk in his father's footsteps, he trained and became a taekwondo black belt in a year. He was home-schooled for a majority of his educational life but despite that, he excelled in his studies. He took his final high school exams at the age of 15, landing in the top 0.5% of the country. Within these remarkable achievements, Jaejoong was still able to find time to help his father with his work, attending press conferences and board meetings as well as solving cases such as the death of Hwang Minyoung.

Suspicions erupted when Jaejoong had somehow vanished from society after his final exams. He no longer attended to the matters in the police force and didn't appear to be at college as well. His return has sparked interests everywhere. Where has he been lurking for the past few years? Rumour has it that he decided to take a break and rest for a while before commencing with further work. After all, to have completely transformed into a prodigy requires a lot of dedication as well as sacrifice and he was only 15. 

Now he has returned again to help his father with his work as well as to continue with his studies. Surprisingly, the young man has opted to do a medical degree. An average ten year old boy should be relishing his childhood, not sticking his nose into national affairs. It seems Kim Jaejoong isn't your average ten year old boy. His stakes seem to be raised much higher.

This handsome young man is one that the nation will be watching for quite a while. He has yet to release a statement of his sudden disappearance; something that the press has taken a lot of interest into. 

                        I read it again and again. Was this all true? The Jaejoong that I loved was staring right back at me from the black and white photograph in the article. He looked so much younger but there was no mistaking that that were his rounded eyes and plump lips. I dashed out of my bedroom without at second thought. My arm reached for the knob to open the front door only to see my phone in one hand and the newspaper in the other.

            "Where are you going?"

            I stopped in my tracks and turned to see Junsu from the kitchen counter drinking a cup of milk. The clock ticked nearby and I saw that the hands were almost at midnight. I reluctantly let go of the handle and slumped towards my brother. My hand tensed and crumpled the newspaper in it. 

            "Would you like some milk?" Junsu asked courteously. I could tell that Junsu was trying to be more caring than before. I didn't answer but Junsu retreated into the kitchen. I heard muffled voices from my phone and put it to my ear.

            "Minni, what's going on?" Jaejoong asked suspiciously. I just remembered that he was still there on the phone. "Where are you going?"

            Should I ask him about himself? "I won't force you into telling me your past. Not until you're ready to." That's what he had said earlier. I forced in a silent inhalation and exhaled slowly. "I was just heading outside to grab the washing. Apparently, it's going to rain tonight." I lied. 

            I heard Jaejoong sigh as well. "You do realise that it's midnight right?" Jaejoong commented.

            "Yes." I replied. "I won't be alone. Junsu's awake, I'll take him out with me." I started to stammer. "I- I'll call you back okay? If you're asleep then ignore it."

            "Of course I will, just for you." And he hung up on me.

            Junsu returned when he heard the phone call ended. In his hand was a warm glass of milk. I took it intuitively, thanked him and sat myself down in the living. Junsu took a spot next to me. It was awkwardly silent in the dimly lit room. I took a sip of my milk and put it down on the coffee table. 

            "Minji." Junsu began nervously. His head was bowed low and his voice was so quite soft. "Please don't run away from us. Don't leave us."

            "I-" I started. "I'm not going anywhere."

            "I don't believe you. You were going to open the front door." Junsu started to wail. "We'll help you clean and cook. We can be sisters and brothers forever." Junsu's sniffing was becoming more apparent. "I'll be a good brother to you, I promise." He looked up at me at that moment and I could make out the tears that were escaping his eyes. 

            "I'm not going to leave you." I reassured him. "I just want to go back to Seoul for a while." I came to that conclusion. There were two reasons for that. Number one, I wanted to see my uncle. I had to clarify a few things with him like why didn't he tell me in the first place that I was living with my own auntie. Number two, I wanted to see Jaejoong. I wanted to be certain that what I read was true. I kept that part of the out though. "I want to meet my uncle."

            "I'll let you go." 

            I turned around to see my auntie standing at the doorway of the living room.

            "I'll let you go. You're on holidays anyway." She said. "I'll let you go."

            I couldn't believe what she was saying. "Are you being serious with me, auntie?"

            "Minji." She said sternly. "Have I ever lied to you?"

            I shook my head. "No, you haven't."

            Junsu smiled a little. "Mum feels really bad now ever since you knew that we were related." He continued. "Minji, you're amazing. You're like the rising sun, brightening up the darkness."

            My auntie approached me and held me gently. It felt like a motherly touch. How I missed having this feeling. "You were right Minji. I put all of my anger on you when it was never your fault. And I'm sorry for that." Her voice was still strong and lacked any emotion but they spoke the truth. "I hated how much you resembled your mother. Throwing my anger on you was like showing your mother that I hated her, something I never got to do. I was so blinded by that motive that I forgot to consider your feelings."

            "Can I ask you now?" I summoned my courage once again. "Why do you hate my mother so much?"

            I could feel her giving Junsu a look. Junsu understood well and left the room.

            "I was jealous of her." My auntie replied simply. "We were sisters that were only a year apart. Of course, many people around us would compare the two of us. Your mother would always outshine me. I guess that was why I always wanted Hana and Junsu to be better than you. I feel pathetic confessing to you now but if I never tell you the truth, then that would just make me feel worse. I am dreadfully sorry Minji and I ask for your forgiveness."

            "I forgive you." I said immediately, interjecting her next words. "Auntie, you have given me a roof over my head, food on my plate and you let me go to school as well. I worked day and night cleaning and cooking because I had no money to pay you. I thought that it was the best that I could do for your family, no, our family at the time." I put on a teary smile. "The truth is, I was furious but I was also happy that I had more blood relatives. It was something that has been absent from my life for 8 years now. I feel more complete now."

            My auntie hugged me tighter and that was when I felt like I understood her a bit better. She had a high wall that was hard to break. She had a sharp tongue just like Hana but her actions were motherly, despite it being in an abusive way. She wanted me to study hard. She wanted me to cook and clean. She wanted me to be a conservative lady who cherished her virtues. And she does that by giving me a hard time. It was sad that that was her way of taking care of me but she was only human. Human are biased beings. They love their own more than anyone else. However this human here, was embracing me with as much compassion as if she was my own mother. And hence, I knew that she still loved. 

AN:

Hi everyone! I had to redo this chapter because a part of it mysteriously went missing :O

But I tried to make it as close to the original chapter as possible.

Of course, many of you want Jaejoong and Minni to meet soon and I can assure you that that would be happening in the upcoming chapter. I promise!

I have put a poll with this chapter. I just want to know who you find to be the cutest couple in this story so far. Please partake in it.

Lastly, I really would like to thank oatlover, chunnea, MaivxiaKhaab and LoveJYJ for recently commenting on my story. It really means a lot to me. I feel more motivated to continue this story.

I hope that I can update soon. 

Thank you and enjoy!

whitedreamm