Chapter 1: First encounter

***

“Ouch!” cried a lean man as another man bumped into him. The lean man lost balance, his glasses slipped from his face and he landed onto the hard floor. Ever the usual pathetic sight, ever the gain of unnecessary attention; he also dropped his groceries bags, and all the fresh fruits that he had just bought scattered out of the plastic bag.

“Hey, watch your step!” The person that bumped into him grunted and threw him an annoyed look.

“Ugh, s-sorry…” Jaejoong muttered.

“Hey, that’s not right, you bumped into him first. You should be the one apologize!” The sudden stern voice came behind him. He turned over his shoulder and saw his beloved boyfriend walking up to him. The flashy aura that always lingered around the man, who is his boyfriend, was enough to attract many eyes in the market and they all took notice of the little commotion.

The boyfriend threw a sharp look at the person who had just knocked down the smaller man.

The aggressor looked agitated for a few seconds before he slightly bowed apologetically to the smaller man, who still had his stuck on the floor. “Sorry…” he mumbled before he hurriedly walked away from the sight.

“Thank you…” Jaejoong muttered to his boyfriend while he put his thick-rimmed glasses back on.

“Baby…you shouldn’t apologize to someone rude. In this case, you’re not at fault.” The voice that spoke was gentle as it always was whenever he spoke to the naive, clumsy guy.

Jaejoong smiled upon hearing the soft yet assertive tone of his lovely boyfriend, Choi Siwon. This was one of the hundreds of reasons why he loved the man so damn much! The man had always been caring towards him. No one had ever cared about him before. He was an orphan and he lived a life of a loner. But this man did, this man cared.

Siwon pulled him up from the floor before helping him pick up all the things that had scattered out from the groceries bags.

“I’m sorry, Wonnie. I’ll remember that next time.”

“See, you’re still unnecessarily apologizing again.” Siwon pointed out before he chuckled lightly and held Jaejoong’s hand.

Jaejoong felt all jittery. The man’s endless caring and gentle attitude toward him never failed to make him fall deeper for the man’s charm. It had been six years since the start of their relationship. Siwon was the one who had asked him out back when they were in their last year of high school. Of course for someone who had this kind of nerdy and laughable look, Jaejoong was shocked when the hottest guy in the school had stepped out and gentlemanly asked him out.

At first Jaejoong hesitated but Siwon kept showing his sincerity and his honesty in his confession to him. And of course, the weak and feeble heart of Kim Jaejoong couldn’t neglect someone as gorgeous as Siwon who kept showing him endless gentleness and courteousness. Also believe it or not they shared their first kiss a year after they had officially started dating. It was the day when Siwon celebrated his 18th birthday. He once believed that no one could bear his boring attitude and old-fashioned beliefs. Jaejoong had put some rules in their relationship when they started dating, and Siwon followed them.

No holding hands in school…

No kissing until after graduation and…

No until marriage…

So, wasn’t the man just the perfect partner for him? Siwon was the one who he was sure he could spend the rest of his life with.

“Baby…let’s go. I’m starving. You promised to cook my favorite dish today, right?”

Jaejoong smiled well aware of how addicting his cooking can be. It is said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach and it was just his luck that his specialty is cooking. His main weapon helps maintain his lover’s heart. It might sound lame, but… it actually works as the man really loves his cooking!

With his hand still in Siwon’s hold, Jaejoong heard soft murmuring voices from some girls as they walked passed them. Those girls were gawking at his gorgeous boyfriend but as soon as their eyes shifted to him, they pried him up and down with a look of derision.

Ah, he doesn’t mind it one bit since he was already used to receiving that kind of look from many.

***

‘The next stop, Gangwon subway line station.’

Jaejoong would have knocked his head against the bus window if the loud announcer hadn’t woken him up from his sleepiness.

Alerted that it was his stop, he stepped out from the bus and started walking up the hill directed to the block of low-cost buildings where his apartment was located at. He only took a few steps out when out of blue came a luxurious car that halted before him, blocking his way.

‘What the heck!’ He jumped backward in shock. And before he could regain himself from the aftershock, a taller, young, handsome man casually came out from the driver side. Jaejoong was stunned for a moment as the man flashed him an apologetic smile.

“Sorry for the sudden blocking,” the man said as moved towards him, “mind getting in car?”

“Pardon?” Jaejoong frowned. ‘What the hell had he just asked me? Is he some kind of ert that loves to pick up random people on the street?’ Jaejoong thought as he could feel shivers run down his spine. He nervously held his workbag tightly on his chest.

“I’m just wondering if you could spend some time with-”

“Uhm…sorry! I’ll pass.” Jaejoong cut him off.

“Oh, come on. This won’t take long. I promise it won't take too much of your precious time. Or should I pay for the time that I’ll steal from you? If so I’ll pay for it, just say the number.” The man smiled and winked at him, “How much for one hour?”

“What… excuse me?!” Jaejoong started to fume in anger at the absurd question. “NO! I’m not into that kind of stuff! Please find someone else, or go to brothels. In there you will find many who willingly will offer you their best service.”

“Ah…no…no…I think you’ve miss-”

“Shim Changmin, how much longer will it take you to get him into the car before I have to do it myself? Is it such a difficult task for you?” Suddenly another voice came from inside the car through the open window. Jaejoong turned his head at the new voice. There a man, clad in a black tuxedo with hair handsomely spiked at the side, swiftly opened the car door and stepped out.

Mentally Jaejoong had to admit the man was breathtaking, but as soon as those dark almond-shaped eyes shot him a cold look, Jaejoong scratched out the first thought of him he had. He replaced it with another word that could best describe the man’s look - snobbish.

“I asked you to get him into the car, and I also ask you not to flirt in the process.” The man said with a stern look.

“Aish, I was in the m